How Can The GOP Get Divorced From Donald T****? Mark Esper Weighs In
Вставка
- Опубліковано 16 тра 2022
- In the second part of Stephen's conversation with Mark Esper, the former Secretary of Defense shares his frustration at the state of Republican politics which is still tied closely to the whims of the former president. Esper's book, "A Sacred Oath," is available now. #Colbert #MarkEsper #ASacredOath
Subscribe To "The Late Show" Channel: bit.ly/ColbertUA-cam
Watch full episodes of "The Late Show": bit.ly/1Puei40
Listen to "The Late Show Pod Show" podcast: link.chtbl.com/Awagtx95?sid=yt
Like "The Late Show" on Facebook: on. 1df139Y
Follow "The Late Show" on Twitter: bit.ly/1dMzZzG
Follow "The Late Show" on Instagram: bit.ly/29wfREj
Watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert weeknights at 11:35 PM ET/10:35 PM CT. Only on CBS.
---
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is the premier late night talk show on CBS, airing at 11:35pm EST, streaming online via Paramount+, and delivered to the International Space Station on a USB drive taped to a weather balloon. Every night, viewers can expect: Comedy, humor, funny moments, witty interviews, celebrities, famous people, movie stars, bits, humorous celebrities doing bits, funny celebs, big group photos of every star from Hollywood, even the reclusive ones, plus also jokes. - Розваги
He also didn't say anything after he was fired... Which invalidates his argument entirely.
He already warned everyone even before he was fired. Seems your point is the moot one.
"en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Part_of_the_Resistance_Inside_the_Trump_Administration"
Or say anything during the election so people could make an informed choice when voting, and then staying on to a second administration to "be a circuit breaker" becomes irrelevant if you help campaign against him.
@@Succubusisis The thing is campaigning against Trump wouldn't make a difference. His supporters are not swayed by logic. They appeal only to emotion and are fully emotionally invested in him; facts become irrelevant because anything will be warped to suit their confirmation bias. Esper would simply be part of the "deep state" to them.
When Esper and Milley signed the open letter to the armed forces in regards to defending the constitution it was a pretty obvious warning about the Trump administration to anyone who can process information on a higher level. That letter was reported widely in print journalism. Esper going on Fox News to bandstand wouldn't have made a shred of difference because intelligent people don't watch Fox News anyway.
I think not saying anything until after the election was the clever thing to do; if he jeopardized his position Trump would likely attempt to replace him with someone more likely to fall in line with crazy ideas like using the national guard to steal ballot boxes.
Mr Esper: to divorce from trumpism,you vote blue until they are gone.
Yep. And you know he’s just as bad as the trumpers because he said it’s partisanship that’s the problem that needs to be broken. No. When one side is truly evil and the other side is normal, the normal side occasionally siding with evil won’t help at all.
@@M_SC absolutely
Hear, hear!
EXCELLENT interview with articulate important questions. Stephen Colbert is far more than a comedian.
Really? Was mostly Stephen going bla bla bla and not letting the guy speak.
@@OceanWave545 Did we watch the same interview? Esper talked.
Shut up
@@OceanWave545 aww triggered
He is from the Stewart school of journalism… But I wish he had pressed harder here. We know why he wanted to stay in his job, lest he be replaced by Don Jr. But this book should have come out the last month do the election.
Seems this guy would have watched Trump win again, knowing what he knows.
I agree that someone had to be on the inside! 💯
The problem is, why didn't he come out with
this revelation the moment he was fired?!?!?!
Instead of waiting in line for a book deal.
🙈 🙄 😡 🙄 🙈
he wouldn't make as much money
I guess they could discredit him and say he made it up
Exactly what I was thinking. I can sorta see staying in the job to keep the looney in the white house from causing a disaster but why not IMMEDIATELY start exposing him as soon as Esper was no longer in his "circuit-breaker" position? We might have been farther along the road of finally getting tfg totally out of the picture by now, and possibly on the road to jail time. Certainly might have reduced some of his puzzling political clout if he had been outed earlier and more often as the ridiculously uniformed and wrongheaded "leader" he was.
inflation baaaaaby
Wouldn't have mattered. They were excellent at discrediting any naysayers. Much of this has been or things like it have been in the public domain for years and this guy's following is a strong as ever.
"But a mannequin with an elephant stapled to his chest could have gotten that done." Stephen is a funny dude!!
a quick wit
The biggest laugh I've gotten from him was when he was quintuple vaxxed and then caught covid twice in 2 months. H I L A R I O U S
@@johncarver9997 The object of ANYONE'S vaccination is NOT to avoid contracting Covid 19. The reason for vaccination is to avoid DYING from Covid 19.
@@tonamiller6850 LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL Yeah, and we watched them move that goalpost constantly. We ALL remember when Biden said it would keep you from catching the disease. Be a little more disingenuous while you try to alter history, it's hilarious to watch. Unlike Colbert.
@@johncarver9997 There's people on the other side of argument who laugh when unvaxxed people like you drop dead from Covid. Considering all the darkness that's been unleashed these last 5 years I'm surprised this type of comedy isn't more popular than it already is.
I wish Colbert maintained having mainly political and journalistic guests. He just absolutely shines in these interviews.
CBS would never allow it. I've always wished Colbert had his own podcast with his own guests.
He just absolutely shines in whatever he does. Really.
He really is. Great interview 🔥
Most of his other guests also have interesting thoughts on the world we live in.
It would be hard to do a daily show with only one focus and still keep it's light hearted nature.
No matter who he has as a guest though, the conversation always seems to turn into an important conversation. Why Mr Colbert is such a treat.
Not everyone can have worked in the White-house. Most people have something to say.
I do see your point, I too am a political junkie, but I like to see viewpoints from people with as much inside information as I have.
It's great to see him interview people in that circle, but it's nice to see those issues discussed with people outside of the "loop" . Plus those out of the "loop " also drop a great hit song!
Hahaha. I kid. I get your point, but it's not a 100% political show right? Only 94%.
Have to keep a bit of variety.
nah its just bunch of one sided views. He should stick to something else.
Self appointed hero...benefitting from book deal
His answer doesn’t account for why he didn’t say anything publicly after he was fired, and until he started promoting a book.
This what capitalism is all about, making the almighty buck
What would be the appropriate
amount of time ,
after the firing ?
Should he have press conferenced
immediately ?
I have heard
if
you want to think clearly
on a subject
write a book.
I think an immediate statement upon being fired.
@@danielraypickrel4316 this isn't fiction, he's a trained military leader. I'm sure he could gather his thoughts quickly enough to warn the public
@@danielraypickrel4316 I can tell you what's not the appropriate amount of time: waiting until you can make a buck off of it.
Saying, "I'm Reagan Republican" doesn't ease my mind either. Reagan had open disdain for the poor, began the deregulation of the banking system and eased policies that broke up monopolies (which is why we only have 2 main news sources and so much misinformation), and upped the "war on drugs" which is and has always been a failure.
Also busted unions and presided over the largest redistribution of wealth upward that we have ever seen. The country has never recovered from this gutting of the middle class.
@Tamas Varga Kinder in language than Trump, sure. But definitely not better in policy.
@Tamas Varga but the policy you support speaks to your integrity. Being proud of supporting a horrible man with horrible policies doesn't make you shine. And Reagan wearing a civilized veneer makes him so much worse than Trump. At least trump showed us who he was, I'd rather have in your face racism and sexism. At least we know who we're dealing with.
Thank you, reaganomics is why business was given free reign to depress wages for the last 30 plus years. So now we have almost no middle class, just the haves and the have nots. reagan destroyed the middle class, and now we have an unstable third world country. reagan was a fascist.
Reaganomics is now why today we have $1.3trillion in student loan debt!
That’s respectable self control by Stephen to let him give his side.
I'd rather see him arrested than on a late night show... this has a Rudy on masked singer feel to it, without the clowns.
If there was any justice at all, Stephen Colbert would have tarred and feathered Mark Esper for not releasing said information sooner ie before January 6th…but good luck getting all the Republicans to invoke the 25th on the Tangerine Baal (Rick Wilson is responsible for that nick name
That shouldn't be seen as something exceptional, it should be seen as the norm we should all want!
He’s still a Republican after all he saw, that’s some seriously powerful brainwashing they do in that cult.
@@speedplayz1517 SAYS GUY with masked avatar. Reflect yourself on others. Clown
I love how everyone grows a pair and wants transparency after the fact, when it’s time to sell books.
Colbert was pissed! one could see it in his face at the end 😬
Such a light hearted show with such serious points to make. A balance most cannot do. Stephen’s interview abilities though… to open his guest up with light hearted conversation and jokes; yet pull such serious information out of them.. it’s a skill few could ever have.
Totally agree. Couldn't have said it better. Masterful interview. Cheers
He is working so hard to justify his reasoning. Judd Apatow is right, Esper could have come out the day after he was fired and warned us all but he waited till he could make money on a book
This just in: Trump didn't get reelected despite Esper not going public with anything. And it is ridiculous and self-serving to assume that January 6th wouldn't have happened if Esper did go public, if only because Esper didn't have any secrets about January 6th that he was withholding.
Absolutely. These are capitalists and not patriots.
Exactly! Came here to write this - absolutely weak reasoning!
Would it have made any difference if he came forward earlier? I’m not defending the guy at all, waiting til now is so obviously just to boost book sales. I’m just saying I think the Trump cult is so strong that it wouldn’t have made any difference. And if you’re like me and have paid attention at all in the last 6 years, this info isn’t shocking in the slightest. The biggest thing I think is that coming forward earlier would give more credibility to his claims, as in less deniability for the MAGA cult, but honestly I don’t think it would matter.
Or at least tell Nancy Pelosi 🙄
Boah, could you hear the silence when he said: "What if they had 8 months?" 😱 A horror so great, we don't even want to imagine it for a second.
He basically was running the clock so they won’t have time to do worse things.
8 months? It could have been 4 years and still he kept silent till now
what if he actually spoke up instead of waiting for a book to cash in
@@gemelwalters2942 As he said, he would have been fired immediately. Not knowing what minion the orange would replace him with.
@@kiha6702 So why didn’t he say anything after being fired? It’s not like they could fire him twice.
Always appreciate Stephen's interviews with these characters. That face at the end 😂👌
You could really see Stephen struggling to not insult this guy to his face at the end there.
Definitely. Nicole Wallace got a taste of his ire, for a nano second when she went on too. He
pardon the typos.
4:54 - "We deserve to know that, to make our choice."
Esper: * dodge *
He was out of office at the time of the 2nd impeachment. Why didn’t he speak then? His rationale falls apart and it’s clear it was all about the book
We love you Stephen. Keep doing this!!! Our country is holding on by a thread.
In Stephen Miller's defense, he has no choice but to serve whoever holds the Amulet of Ba'al, and provides the souls to the Vortex. He has no say in that.
lol...that was brilliant. I feel like I need to now sort of make up a grimoire of the all the Trump cabinet members and advisors lol
I did not know that. Now so much makes sense. This guy is full out evil and the thought that he has and will bring children into the world is very sad. His poison will go on.
They know his true name and use it to lock him to the amulet.
Nah, he worked off his amulet debt loooong ago.
Now he volunteers his time.
All hail Baal....
Colbert is still one of the best interviewers in the biz.
How much did he pay you to say that
@@BambooBrad Cry harder, dying repud minority, lol!
@@BambooBrad why do you think he's not among the best
Stephen Colbert just helped Esper sell more books.
@@BambooBrad awww triggered
The answer Stephen was looking for is we are in a really bad place when you can't trust the American people with that information. We are screwed.
I was looking for a stern flat faced: "we're fucked" and then turns to the camera deadpan on and says it again
It's not that they couldn't trust the American people, it's that telling that information would have caused him to be fired and then Trump would have replaced him with a loyalist. People want to criticise Esper for holding this information back but his explanation for it makes perfect sense and he likely averted a far more serious catastrophe by keeping his position. But yeah, it's a terrible situation that we can't ever allow to happen again. I don't know how much we can do to prevent it, but we need to do all that we can to prevent it. First and foremost, we need to stop the escalation and reach out to Trump supporters with respect and try to find a way to talk to be civil and understanding and talk to our neighbors again. Trump's supporters are Americans just like us and we need to stop making fun of them and calling them names because that's what got us here in the first place. Bringing back respect, compassion and civility to public discourse is the only chance we have to prevent what's coming. So... yeah... we're pretty much screwed.
One also cannot trust the media since Fox would have essentially ignored or poopooed these stories (ie, partisanship on their side over preventing terrible things).
As much as it frustrates me that politicians/people in government hide things from us and divert our attention I know why they do it... the reality is people DO vote and react based on emotions and not facts... and to tell the complex truth to people often doesn't work. Doesn't matter if its America or elsewhere
How much trust would you have in people who elected Trump to be president?
I genuinely appreciate that at the end, despite the incredibly awkward silence that would typically be filled with claps for what could almost be described as "heroic," the audience could see through the bullshit and kept their hands down. It was a phenomenal answer to a skipped question because it was irrelevant, and kudos to that audience for unanimously getting that.
That bullshit he was slinging could be smelled in Brooklyn
Stephen is still the king of the follow up question. Why isn't he moderating the Presidential debates?
Well if he told us what was going on when it mattered, how would he sell books, and profit off his lack of action later? Rock and a hard-cash place, right?
Yeah, and don't we wonder if he will pay taxes on the money he makes from his best seller???
Tbh I think it would have made people want to read it more. Now its all over it feels slightly less relevant because we know crazy was there
A true Republican, Mark Esper is making money off of things he has known for a long time now, and should have shared well before now.
I take it you’re not buying the “circuit breaker” argument. Honest question- why not? What would you have done?
Exactly.
@@ea9988 Imagine Flyns brother becoming secretary of defense? Flyn himself? A Clark-like figure? Stephen Miller? Because they would be appointed as "acting" congress would have no influence if one of these jokers had been appointed. The public has the rigth to know but could the public have done something at that moment? GOP who was in power in the senate would have done nothing. If he had spilled the beans rigth after he was fired, the narrative would have been: Fake news, disgruntled employee who got fired. It probably would not have changed anything except maybe a missile attack on Mexico. It could be that the 2th impeachment would have gone differently but I doubt it.
Would Pence have done a better job?
I am not a fan of Esper but I can understand his reasoning. However, in stead of writing a book, he could have testified before the J6 Committee but maybe he did but we just dont know about it yet.
Vindman was great to testify. Howecer, he was not in a position like Esper in which he could prevent potential disasters. And lets be honest due to the republicans his testimony did not change the outcome of the impeachment process as it should have done.
@@ea9988 sure but after he was fired, the circuit breaker shit needs to come to light, not after the book is finished.
@@ea9988 He was fired 11/9/20. Jan 6 happened and he said nothing. He waited 18 months after he was fired and for his book to be released before he spoke up. He even admits his replacements had 60 days to wreck havoc and he said nothing until it was time to cash in.
Esper wrestled with a dilemma. Hmmm. Sounds like it was tough, as he "says in [his] book." Meanwhile, we continue to wrestle with the fallout from a presidency that has unalterably shifted the trajectory of our republic. Good luck with the tour, Mr. Esper, but I'm not buying it. Or the book.
Stephen is such a great interviewer
Colin Powell told him to stay.
Too bad we can't get a rebuttal from Mr Powell
Stephen was genuinely speechless to that response at the end, and not in the best way. You could see the stress on his face in his outro. It’s a terrifying prospect to have someone like that tell you they couldn’t be honest because “what if it was worse without me”. Yeah but what if it could have been better by others knowing.
Others knowing has no meaning. There is no one that will fix Trump. GOP stood by him and he didnt resign. You gotta play to devil's humour to know not to take him to dangerous levels. You wont understand that.
But it’s the unfortunate truth. We cannot judge him solely on what we know because there is probably a lot more we don’t know. And him saying that he could be easily replaced with somebody who would except every order from Trump is completely true because he had already done it before.
Except that, once he WAS out........he still didn't speak.
He waited to get a book deal.
It's like "sure, I *could* have gotten on the tannoy as I was leaving the sinking ship......but I wanted to get some ad sponsors first."
Points to the arrogance, ego, narcissism etc of the lesser baddies. A they think they’re so powerful and non evil.
This is exactly why Edward Snowden is a hero, not a traitor! He blew the lid off all the "you don't want to know what's really going on" lines to keep us in ignorant silence. What we don't know is how self-serving and weak those in power are!
I can understand his rationale for wanting to stay to be the circuit beaker and fearing who would follow him. But what i can’t understand is why he won’t say there’s only one sane political party right now and, while i don’t agree with most of their policies, i will vote for Democrats until the Republicans remove this cancer that has taken over the party. He’s still choosing party over Country!!!!
Excellent interview Stephan. Thank you for asking substantive questions.
You can clearly see on Colbert's face how hard he was trying to hold himself back from Will-Smithing Mark Esper right there and then.
As Esper would DESERVE.
Tells it in a book for his profit.
He’s no hero that’s for damn sure.
Can't help but notice he didn't answer the question: where are we as a nation when you can't inform the public because that would make things even worse?
he did answer but in code, I translated it "buy my book to know"
Yep, I was coming here to write the same thing. He’s another self serving GOP coward only interested in himself.
It isn't the state of the nation now, it was the state of the nation THEN because a mob boss and his cronies were in power. They blocked his conviction in both impeachment proceedings and tried to steal his re-election; they were dangerous.
"Where are we as a nation"... somewhere along the lines of a failed democracy
Great interview. Stephen did a great job. Esper did not get defensive but just answered the questions. That gives us information and opportunity to consider it all.
These cowards come out and say all this when they have a book to shill. Sickening.
Exactly 💯
He could've told us this the moment he was fired!
😡 😡 😡
The "high bar" for republican character is still underwater for decent humans.
He does have a point. People who got replaced tended to be crazier and crazier and crazier. And many of the things said were actually reported at the time, just never attributed to Secretary Esper. But he could have explicitly explained as soon as he _was_ officially replaced, instead of waiting to write a book.
Should have spoken up immediately and called for the 25th amendment. Your post is thoughtful and insightful.
Yep. Ur comment is what I was looking at for...ok. While in office...understandable.... But why wait THIS LONG.... others would hv backed him 😠😠😡. Like mayb the DAY AFTER!!! Alot could hv been avoided or lessened!!
But he can make money from the book.
Correct. There’s a large window between leaving the job and publishing the book that Esper glosses over.
Unfortunately Capt Orange isn't going away -look at pre WWII Germany, same thing happened and mustache succeeded the second time - hope to God I'm wrong. But 2016 - 2020 has opened the door for the next person to succeed and the public is being primed for it by tucker and co.
This man should not have been on the show
In Britain, when a current ruling party is defeated at the ballot box, they leave office within a day or two of the results. Perhaps leaving the defeated incumbent in power for more than two months, is something to reconsider?
Because the US (govt) doesn't have enough Humphrey Applebys.
Mark Esper; "For the mere price of a book deal, I will remove my integrity(if I ever had one) & fail to uphold my oath of office, to protect and serve democracy"
I laughed when he called himself a "reagan republican", as if that was something completely different.
But, hey, at least he is drawing the line somewhere.
Something something reagonomics and trickle down something something... He said it so proudly too.
He’s just as delusional as trumpers, he’s just more normal sounding about it. they all are. It’s been proven over and over by math and history not to work.
Knowing many Republicans and being married to a conservative, "Reagan Republicans" are more interested in conservative economics (small government, low taxes on wealthy, trickle-down which they wholeheartedly believe works despite decades of evidence that it's a failure) while "Trump Republicans" are more concerned with conservative social issues: white replacement theory, immigration, reproductive rights, gay rights, etc. even at the cost of bigger government and higher taxes to enforce their social agendas. A conservative may believe in one and strongly disagree with the other.
This Esper guy lives in a efing fantasy and either is totally dumb or thinking we are totally dumb. Either way he is complicit of the bigotry that we are having now.
I do see the dilemma tho. How do you stay in an evil regime when you are the ones that need to stop the worst impulses? BUT these revelations would have been pretty helpful in the 202 presidential election even as late in the day as it was.
I didn't need those revelations to know Trump is a scumbag. He's been showing his true colors for decades.
The real dilemma is that Esper liked that Trump's shit show was making the traditional republican agendas seem less absurd. Therefore, Esper was there to keep Trump's worst impulses in check and let Mitch do his job. He also had a book to sell.
The question wasn't even about whether he should stay - it was only about why did he not speak after leaving. Esper answered the question he wanted to answer and not the one he was asked.
Here's an interesting question. Would anyone's opinions have actually changed if he had come forth immediately after he was fired? The stuff that Esper has to share is absolutely damning, but, when I try to consider the whole Trump presidency, I cannot process all of the damning things that has come out. Everything Esper has said was just added to the pile... Didn't change my opinion of anyone. At that point those who still supported Trump still looked past all of that other stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if they just looked past this too. I'm becoming more and more convinced that some of them wouldn't even be bothered by it, as they have no interest in participating in a democracy anymore.
@@gallopinggoose6891 sad but true. I long ago concluded that anyone who still supported Trump had something seriously wrong with them. The man has literally no redeeming features and makes 'stupid' an aspirational goal.
Not one of those who added and abetted #45 we all know who they are by the books they write, not one including number 45 should ever be allowed to run for sewer cleaner let alone a position in the Government 🤔
Thank you Secret Agent Esper.
When those two lawyers quit, it made huge news and highlighted that new NY guy Bragg as somebody who was ill equipped for the job, unlike Cy Vance. They turned tail and continued with the investigation. So Esper is a coward. Quitting calls attention to the problem.
"it wasn't one guard in Auschwitz.... there's others so what can I do?"
A tough guest to have, but important. Methinks Stephen was glad to have him on, but not convinced that Esper ended up doing the right thing. Esper should've listened to his wife.
Colbert has said more than once he would have had trump on the show, even when he was in the WH, and I think he was sincere.
Unfortunately, he didn't ask Esper the most important question: what made you want to work for this maniac in the first place?
This is the most important question to ask, from 2016 onward!
He says "Reagan republican" as if that's separate from "trump republican". The main difference between the two is that trump Republicans don't hide their evil.
Especially with trump enacting the same deregulation policies from the Reagan era
Well said.
We cannot let them get control! We cannot go back! Let’s ditch Mitch and minions for all they stand for/on! Let’s vote 🗳 those f@ckers out!
Don’t be complacent! It’s not about what we didn’t get, it’s about what will be TAKEN!
Colbert was very passionate and honest, the best I’ve seen him, it was exciting to watch him be passionate…and I’ve been watching him for years.
Ever hear of the 25th Amendment? Removal of incapacitated presidents.
Exactly. The instant the POTUS floats starting wars with allies or using the military to shoot protesters in the leg he needs to be removed. If Esper was really loyal to the constitution his book would include how he led the movement to invoke the 25th amendment.
Especially when there dumbmented.
I've been saying for a while now, I miss the days when the thought that the Republican candidate might win didn't terrify me.
It is their _policies_ (and the Democrats at times embracing those policies) which set the stage for a Trump victory. Economic inequality didn't get totally out of control until Reagan. Eisenhower would be considered a "radical leftist" by most of today's Republicans.
This must the first time audience did not clap after an answer from the guest explaining his difficult decision. Good save Stephen! Even though we can read the tension on your face, you still managed to save your guest from not being cheered on
It says a lot about the caliber of people who come to see his show and how his show manages their audience. Many random people being attentive and reacting to what is happening instead of when. That man didn't deserve the applause, so he didn't get it, but Stephen did, so they clapped out of respect.
Colbert makes Obiden look good. Look at your condition now! 3rd world standard filthy and disgusting. Demshit agenda is a fiasco! Maga asap
"Being cheered on"? Or "Being jeered on"? They mean completely opposite things
@@enriqueali I think they were referring to the fact that Stephen jumped into an outro quick enough to get some applause so the awkwardness didn't carry too much.
That was Stephen legitimately angry at the end there...
His reason is just terrible. Even Stephen was pissed at the end of the interview. Esper was basically saying, I am your least worse option, let me watch the country minimally burn gradually and pray.
the part where he asked colin powell had me in stitches. he would be better off asking an actual dumpster fire.
Even if Stephen was pissed, I doubt it was at Mark Esper specifically. If you genuinely think his intent was to convey that Mark Esper himself is deserving of ire for his choices, I don't think you are picking up on what Stephen is getting at when he repeatedly asked "What does that say about the situation?."
Nixon resigned because there was a core of Republicans who still had enough spine to tell the president "We can't stand beside you in this, you should probably resign or else they are going to impeach you and we will have to let them," after Watergate. Esper had the advantage of hindsight in seeing that this president has gotten away with way worse than Watergate. Worse than anyone dreamed a president could ever get away with since his party would not, or could not, call him out on basically anything. He would have been a fool not to have noticed that. You have to realize tons of people DID blow the whistle on the boss, it just didn't do any good. All it got them was fired.
THAT is the horrific reality that Stephen is striking at: Esper says he thought he couldn't do the thing we would normally expect to happen in America, he had to act like this was China or Game of Thrones or something.
Exactly. And if he believes what he says why didn't he come out immediately after being fired? He waited until he had a book deal, it's disgusting.
Maybe they should have impeached him when they had the chance.
Or his Cabinet could have removed him with the 25th Amendment instead of resigning.
It's better they didn't. Legitimate civil war would have broken out and political violence would be rampant in the streets
Reagan was a bad president. Deregulation, “all good things”? Lol.
Reagan was a horrible president who decimated the middle class. You can thank him for all of the homeless people in the United States. Why Republicans hold him up as a paragon is lost on me. Reagan was a stupid piece of shit.
Reagan ran the country into huge debt expanding the military against an enemy (U.S.S.R.) that was already collapsing. And his deregulation and "trickle-down economics" to favor the wealthy - which has never worked to help average Americans.
I laughed at that. Also, "conservative judges...all good things." This guy's as much a clown as any other Elephant.
It made airline tickets cheaper. And do you really think cell phones would even be LEGAL if AT&T still had it's government monopoly? Reagan is the 4 the greatest American president. Behind Calvin Coolidge, George Washington, and DJ Trump.
@@nickthaskater yep
Reagan Republican, so like Moscow Mitch
Would have been nice of Stephen to not have him in the show, would have shown that just because you did something sensible, and have a boom to push, you're still inherently a Republican who doesn't have the interests of every single American in mind. And especially in heart
I think is important or we wouldn’t ever heard or have any thoughts of what happen during the last presidency. Amazing how Stephen Miller would be the bad voice on Trumps shoulder making he go insane.
so just have people we agree with and who align with our beliefs and values? oh yes... how diplomatic that would be.🤦
What you propose, my friend, is an "echo chamber".
Yea, great thanks.
Absolutely correct, good comment.
@@Neppy1414 has zero to do with aligned politics. what did he contribute in this interview? how does anything he said change anything? The insurrection already happened. He's a greedy man who put money before country. Whether he's republican or Democratic that wouldn't change
This is why shows like LSSC can be a source of reliable information. Esper dodged your last question, even after you pushed again, but that’s to be expected. Remember, he’s still a Reagan republican… barely the lesser of two evils.
I dunno. I think he raises a good point. It's hard to say whether it's sincere or just an excuse, but he makes a good point regardless -- particularly the "what if he had 8 months" bit.
There's another element of this, where politics and the military are close relatives. That mindset of allegiance to authority is something that most of us can't comprehend. Despite what you see in movies, questioning upward in the chain of command is not a natural inclination, doesn't usually end well for the individual, and is rarely successful anyway. Consider how the two impeachments went, even when someone had information to act on.
The phrase "pick your battles" comes to mind, and when you see craziness setting in, it's gotta be a tough call when to say "when."
Ever notice how much he resembles Putin?
"all the best people", none of which ever did the right thing while in the job.
"I would be happy if not a single refugee foot ever again touched America’s soil."
Attributed to Stephen Miller, the grandson of immigrants.
I also love the most stupid irony of these people claiming there's a scheme to replace Republican US citizens while all of them are the descendants of people who came to America and replaced those who lived there before.
Trump is also the grandson of immigrants. Filthy hypocrites!
Yeah, that's what the native Americans have been saying for over 200 years...
@@lenawagenfuehr53 Unfortunately true. 🙁
Thank you for not leaving us.
You go Stephan .Hold his feet to the fire👍
If Esper had told, would the others around Trump/Trump just have lied and denied(yes), but would the rest of America have woken up? We'll never know.
Sadly We know . They lost a freaking election and still to this day with no evidence and with trump appointed judges disregarding the charges , they still claim they won and protect or justify or glorify the attackers on the capital
When people say Republican values it always make me laugh so hard. It's a oxymoron
Right?!
Oh they have 'values', they just aren't ones that prioritise the country overall or the needs of the people or, really, anything long term.
Exactly. They value racism and willful ignorance
Wasn't always like that.
Is that whyy dems believe in hundred genders 😂lol
I did not think he was going to say "gravy." 😬
Yes, think if they had 8 months. Horrifying. Thank you Mark Esper. Thank you.
I actually agree with Esper BUT (and it's a BIG BUT) I do think that, on November 9th, 2020 once he was fired and could no longer be the "circuit breaker" .. he should have informed the public,.. for two reasons. To maintain the public's trust in the institution he served and to keep his "sacred oath" intact by doing all he could to keep Trump out of the Whitehouse. 🙏
Now he's just another republican grifter on the Trump train.
I get really tired of all this talk about “extreme partisanship” as though it’s not a Republican sin.
100%
Exactly!
In any modern American political discussion, there will always be someone screaming "BOTH SIDES, YOU GUYS!" It's not even brainwashing, it's Pavlovian.
I wouldn't have wanted to have Mark Esper's job as Secretary of Defense, which was a high-wire act of incredible balance. Tip too far against the absurd policies of our former Lunatic-in-Chief and you're fired, like so many other decent public officials.
He should have told it before we voted. He is too proud of himself. And he got fired anyway. No respect.
Esper is either lying or delusional because the GOP as he describes no longer exists and never will again. Someday, if the country survives it, there might emerge a new party that carries similar values as the GOP once did. This thought that the GOP still stands for its "core" values is false, but because so many people believe it to be true, the folks that appropriated the party remain successful. It would be wise for all of us to stop calling the conservative party in the USA republican. A new name is needed because the old one no longer fits.
Exactly. The party isn't Republicans any more. They're MAGAts.
The RePOOPicans have never been a party for the people since Lincoln was President, and he was assassinated for being the only humanitarian Republican.
There are many Republican policy ideas that I don't disagree with. I simply disagree with the vast majority of *people* who can themselves Republicans. I don't want those people in power.
Republicans: mostly delusional but with some brief moments of clarity quickly blocked with lies
May I suggest they call themselves the White Supremacist Nationalist Party, or they could come out of their closets dressed in their Nazi uniforms and own their loathsomeness.
*It's pretty simple... as the RICH GOT RICHER our Democracy became Weaker!*
Thanks. Sec. Esper!
It all makes sense now why all these crazy things get leaked instead of people coming out and telling us them.
Hope depreciates by the hour here. I will never understand how the minority thinkers weild the power of the many, and the many keeps on trying to reason with the unreasonable... until the unreasonable destroys everything. And the rich get to move on while the poor are subjugated and or killed in defiance.
Excellent point and so eloquently stated. 👏
He rattles off a list of things Trump got done -- including putting conservative judges in -- saying they were "all good things". Not sure I agree with Roe on death's door.
" At that point, they only had 60 days. Think if they had eight months. "
That drives the spike into the rail. I understand, Mr Secretary. Bravo.
So, what do we do moving forward.... Colbert 2024.
I'm sorry Mr.Esper, everyone likes to think of themselves as the Hero of these stories, but we executed even the generals that said no to Hitler a few times.
Very well said
Which generals are you talking about? I mean it serious. As far as I knew the German war criminals were sentenced for the war crimes they committed or they knew of and did nothing against it. Please tell me who contradicted Hitler and did get away with it?
I think we need to appreciate his honesty and remember his staying on likely benefitted the nation. As he mentioned, rump would've certainly replaced him with an absolute toady if he could've.
And more importantly, if justice is not served and rump is allowed to run again and chooses to do so, hopefully many will keep these atrocities (real and attempted) in mind.
No applicable in this case. That works as retribution against an enemy. But we have to have insider circuit breakers when a tyrant gets to power domestically. You are setting up a bad precedence to Deter and Discourage neutralizing forced within our own offices of power.
@@TheRealYTIAN there's only one member of the Operation Staff who at some point expressed opposing views and still had a job afterwards: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Warlimont
Edit: another dissident general was Gotthard Heinrici, of course none of the two belonged to the good guys. Those either died in concentration camps or were murdered/forced to commit suicide. Heck, they even killed Rommel just because he wasn't completely in line with their military Propaganda (so much for "before you kill a man you first have to kill his name")
Did this guy really low key blame it on his wife?
Lol
This is what journalism is supposed to be. Colbert showing these professional newsmen on how to grill someone.
It paints a terrifying picture. I hope the book takes off
Esper was one of the clowns who went with t'rump for that Bible photo-op after he tear gassed protesters in DC. You are oh so brave to stand up to him...2 years later! 😂🤣
Imagine standing there next to the guy who just told you to shoot the protesters in the legs.
A situation so scary, I think we need to call him a hero.
Please tell us you are being ironic.
To be clear, he could have spoke out sooner, but having the courage and strength to hang in there and be the circuit breaker has almost certainly saved many lives... and democracy too, what there is left of it. Putin's trolls can't fool all of us.
@@TesserId Did he ever break the circuit?
All he probably did is prevent a rapid escalation in some situations, where then instead a slow erosion of institutions happened. I'm not sure if the accumulated small erosions don't add up to more damage to the country than an early, quick escalation would have done.
And even if you grant his circuit breaker rationale, hearing only his side of the story (where he is the hero of the story), his rationale ends mostly the day he got fired, it definitely doesn't hold up after Trump left office, or after on Jan 6 the actual escalation happened.
He could have been a hero if he played the circuit breaker as long as he was able to, and after that layed out all he knew. But waiting more than a year, writing a book about it instead of telling the public like one would assume was his duty, profitting personally from having the information kept secret until his book is published... that doesn't qualify as heroic in my book.
@@wolframstahl1263 Yeah, again it would have been better if he'd spoke up earlier. But, Trump's way of being suggestive like a mafia don rather than giving direct orders surly makes that difficult. Others have spoken to this point, and it does add up. But, Trump is of course still going to deny ever giving explicit orders, and we can't look back and really know what impact he would have had if he'd spoken up back then. But, we do know he was let go, so we do know he didn't do what Trump wanted. So, I'm thinking that we can take that as Trump expecting his suggestive manner to be interpreted as a direct order. Having been in such situations myself, I can understand a desire to take the time to reflect deeply before speaking out.
@@TesserId Reflecting deeply is totally fine, reflecting deeply exactly to the point where you can personally profit, is not.
If he was the heroic curcuit breaker, knowing that there's a lot of stuff going on that's somewhere on the scale of shady to criminal to treasonous, he'd keep contemporaneous notes, gather evidence, come foreward to investigations to share his findings and worries, maybe keep a list of _wrong_ things he felt he needed to do to keep his circuit breaker position.
I get your point, but I just don't buy it. It's just too convenient, and coincidentally there's legions of people who also published their respective books to tell how they were the circuit breakers, the secret heroes who never could speak up.
Good interview...!
This interview is blowing my mind
I have massive respect for Esper in that he protected us from Dump causing a war and declaring martial law to stay in power. He probably prevented a dystopian nightmare.
But after he was fired, the patriotic thing to do would have been to warn us well before the book.
And before Jan 6.
“As a wife please quit but as an American please stay” Everyone needs a wife like this 🇺🇸
Do you really believe that bs? Come on, wake up. If that's the case maybe you were looking at the wrong one with the balls.
"Be grateful, it could have been worse?"
No thanks to Esper's cowardice...
Thank you Steven. Mr. Colbert. You have been missed but I would rather have you healthy than entertaining. I sincerely appreciate you holding Mr. Esper to the fire with your final question even though he couldn't provide an adequate response.
If that argument is borne out by the facts, I’m buying it. Someone had to be there. And, stability is a good thing.
Sorry, more Trumpublican self-aggrandizing lies. He wouldn't be singing this song if Trump had won. Screw. This. Guy.
Yeah, but he didn't blow the whistle the instant he was fired, so it doesn't hold water for me.
Or, save your money & check it out from the library.
@@marybellefleur or don’t read his self-serving lies at all
@@Ironraven001 AFTER he was fired is too late to be a “whistleblower”.
Because an informed public will save the country, lets make sure people aren't informed and as misinformed as possible so those in power can remain in power and the wealthy funding them can covet even more wealth.
An informed public could not have kicked Trump out of office. The only mechanism is an impeachment trial, we tried that twice and learned that it is inherently a political act, meaning it requires our elected representatives to act... They did not and probably will not in the future.
Interested outsider here (🇨🇦),while I agree that having people as "circuit-breakers" in the admin to protect from the crazier impulses is necessary, I question why there's now a whole library's worth of tell-all memoirs with that crucial information being sold for profit, rather than immediately reported after being removed/resigning from office.
That strikes me as "my oath is to the country... until I need a new job."
Maybe the GOP should have a policy other than "Gimme that! It's mine!". Seriously... any policy.