Former President Trump bashed CNN and other fake news outlets for misleading the public on the “Todd Starnes Show” Monday.
After national radio host Todd Starnes read CNN’s deceptive headline about the Chinese spy balloons, Trump called it “disinformation.”
“I want to read CNN’s headline. This is their actual headline, Mr. President. ‘Chinese spy balloons under Trump not discovered until after Biden took office.’ They’re always trying to find something to go after you,” Starnes said.
“It’s disinformation,” Trump replied. “And the person that came up with that story is the same person that came up with the story a long time ago that the laptop was Russia disinformation.”
The former president also slammed Biden for his handling of the economy and foreign affairs.
Ahead of Biden’s upcoming State of the Union address, Trump told Starnes’ audience how he feels the Union is doing.
“It’s a confused country,” Trump said. “It’s a country in decline or in serious decline. It’s a country that’s not respected and laughed at all over the world. It’s a country that should have easily stopped the Ukraine-Russia situation.”
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“It’s a disgrace what’s happening to our country,” Trump added.
LISTEN TO THE FULL CONVERSATION HERE:
The following is a rush transcript from the Todd Starnes Show which airs daily from noon to 3:00 p.m. ET.
TODD STARNES: [00:00:14] Welcome back to the Todd Starnes radio program. I’m so happy to have you with us today. And as promised, a lot happening in the world, a lot happening right here in America and on our Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line is one of the greatest presidents of our lifetime. President Donald Trump. Mr. President, welcome back to the show. [00:00:34][20.5]
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: [00:00:36] Well, thank you, Todd, very much. [00:00:37][1.2]
STARNES: [00:00:38] Mr. President. Big news over the weekend with this Chinese spy balloon that got shut down. What I find interesting about this, I want to read CNN’s headline. This is their actual headline, Mr. President. “Chinese spy balloons under Trump not Discovered until after Biden took office.” They’re always trying to find something to go after you. [00:00:59][20.9]
TRUMP: [00:01:00] It’s disinformation. And the person that came up with that story is the same person that came up with the story a long time ago that the laptop was Russia disinformation. Don’t use the laptop. It’s all this information. It’s the same exact person. And they came up with this idea because this way you can have disinformation, you can get it off. You could sort of put it on Trump as usual. And people don’t buy it. They don’t buy it at all. And if it happened, by the way, you know, when these things happen, people see it. You know how this one was found. I guess a farmer was looking up at the sky and they saw it. It’s massive. It’s a much bigger thing than you would think. And people see it. So nobody saw it. There were no complaints. There were no people saying, oh, gee, there’s a big balloon or a blimp or whatever you want to call it up there. So it’s just more disinformation, just like Russia, Russia, Russia. That was a hoax, that was a disinformation hoax and all the rest of it. You think of it, impeachment hoax number one, impeachment hoax number two, all they’re good at is disinformation and cheating on elections. That’s all they know how to do. [00:02:06][65.6]
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STARNES: [00:02:07] And, you know, Mr. President, Congressman Mike Waltz out of Florida said he reached out to the Defense Department and they said, well, yeah, this happened, but we may not have told the administration. That to me sounds pretty treasonous if you’ve got the Pentagon holding on to information like that and they’re not sharing it with the commander in chief. [00:02:25][17.8]
TRUMP: [00:02:27] Yeah, well, I disagree with Mike, and Mike’s a friend of mine. He’s a great guy, but I disagree with Mike. We would have found out about it. Everybody said they didn’t hear about it. I mean, not just me and virtually everybody, even guys like Bolton, who is, you know, not somebody I particularly like, although I used him to the country’s advantage every time I put him in a room, they thought we were going to war, so we would win all the negotiations. But, you know, it’s everybody, including him. But everybody said the same thing, that it never happened. And I believe that. [00:02:56][28.9]
STARNES: [00:02:56] Why do you think President Biden waited so long in giving that order to shoot it down? [00:03:01][5.2]
TRUMP: [00:03:02] I think they’re just very unsure of themselves. They knew about it long before. They knew about it when it was, I think before it got to Alaska. They knew about it. And I think they just are very unsure of themselves. And, you know, they should be based on results. They should be unsure of themselves. [00:03:19][16.5]
STARNES: [00:03:20] I have to tell you, I was so excited to see you back out on the campaign trail. The people in South Carolina just loved you. What was that experience like for you being back out there and shaking hands with folks and getting the ice cream there at the Zesto? [00:03:32][12.8]
TRUMP: [00:03:34] Well, I was there to get the endorsement of great people. We had just great, as you know, the governor of the state and Lindsey, who’s a terrific person, he is on the liberal side, but you can’t win them all. That’s okay. But we had just about every congressman. We had great, great support. It was a beautiful thing to see. And I also went to New Hampshire that day. I went to the Republican Party’s event, and we had tremendous support there, too. And it was a great day. And you probably heard they say 81 million people watched in one form or another. And that’s a number that few people have ever seen. It’s the Super Bowl type of numbers. [00:04:11][37.2]
STARNES: [00:04:12] It’s huge [00:04:13][0.7]
TRUMP: [00:04:13] It was great. It was a beautiful day. Yeah, it was a beautiful day. [00:04:16][2.7]
STARNES: [00:04:16] And, Mr. President, those the numbers are huge. In spite of the fact that DirectTV AT&T declaring war on conservative cable channels. Of course, you’ve been very vocal about what’s been happening with Newsmax. [00:04:26][10.5]
TRUMP: [00:04:29] Well, I think it’s a disgrace. Newsmax has done a fantastic job, so many of the people in there, almost all of them. I mean, if you look at just what a great job they’ve done and it’s a conservative voice, it’s really a true conservative voice. And what DirecTV and AT&T did is, I think it’s deplorable, as Hillary would say. I hope it works out as well. That’s a good word. But it is a deplorable situation and it shouldn’t be allowed. It shouldn’t be allowed. And, you know, the other thing is Newsmax did very well in the ratings, so they took something off that was actually doing well in the ratings as opposed to other shows they have that don’t. So this was done for political reasons and they’re gonna end up winning that. They’re going to end up winning. So we’ll see what happens. But Chris Ruddy and the rest of them, they’re great people and they deserve better. I can tell you that, so do you. [00:05:24][55.2]
STARNES: [00:05:24] Chris Ruddy, by the way, that was the first invite I got to Mar a Lago. He brought me down for supper and that was a good meal, Mr. President. [00:05:32][7.5]
TRUMP: [00:05:33] Well, he’s a great guy, and so are you a great guy. I have to be honest with you. We have to tell it like it is. If I didn’t agree, if I didn’t think so, well first of all, I wouldn’t be doing your show. It’s one of those things. But you’ve done a great job, Todd. We appreciate it. [00:05:48][15.0]
STARNES: [00:05:49] Mr. President. Tomorrow Biden will deliver the State of the Union. In your estimation, what is the state of our union right now? [00:05:56][6.7]
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TRUMP: [00:05:58] It’s a confused country. It’s a country in decline or in serious decline. It’s a country that’s not respected and laughed at all over the world. It’s a country that should have easily stopped the Ukraine Russia situation. I could have stopped that with a phone call. It wouldn’t have started. You know, I mean, we went four years. Nobody ever heard of this. And I thought actually, when Putin started lining up along the border and I actually think that’s what he expected to. But the country our country was so weak. You remember when Biden said, well, maybe they’re going to take some of it, essentially. And you say, you know, that’s not a good message to have. So it’s something that shouldn’t have started. You look at inflation, it’s actually really bad. The recent numbers just came out really, really bad. And so many things, you look at that horrible Afghanistan withdrawal that nobody’s ever seen anything like that. It was, I think, the lowest day in the history of our country. And a very big thing as you look at millions of people, I think maybe 15 million, but you look at millions and millions of people are pouring into the country and nobody knows who they are. Nobody knows where they come from. They’re terrorists, and, you know, they’re releasing their prisoners. They’re releasing their people from mental institutions into our country, Todd, you know that very well. And who can blame them? Who can blame them? You know, the cost that they’re saving. And literally, you look at some of their mental institutions now and they’re empty and you know where the people are. They’re in the United States of America, the American dream. It’s a disgrace what’s happening to our country. [00:07:33][95.8]
STARNES: [00:07:35] On the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line is former President Donald Trump. And Mr. President, I know our time is quickly expiring. You know, you talk a lot about the culture and you were such a strong defender of life, religious liberty, a lot of the issues for the evangelical movement. And I think it’s interesting how the media is trying to say that evangelicals are against you moving into this new election cycle. I’ve had plenty of those leaders on this program. I haven’t had a single one say that. [00:08:03][28.4]
TRUMP: [00:08:05] Well, I appreciate your saying that. Nobody has done more for life than I have. You know, they talked for decades about it, but nobody did it. I got three Supreme Court justices and I did it, and now it’s up to the states. And that’s where people wanted it. That’s where people, that’s where it should be. And states are going to do the right things. And if they’re not, something’s going to happen. And, you know, but it’s right now where it should be. Everybody was opposed to Roe, so many people, and the legal scholars were opposed, not even on a religious basis, I’m talking about legal scholars were opposed to it in so many different ways. So I did something that nobody else was able to get through. And you’re talking about many, many decades almost before you were born, I would say, Todd, and probably me, too. And we had three, you know, great people that voted their hearts and voted what was right. And now it’s up to the states. And I think the people, the evangelicals, Christians, frankly, a lot of other people, a lot of other religions, they very much appreciate what I did. And you’re right. I see a lot of love. I read from, you know, the fake news that some people are angry. I don’t know how they could be angry at me. I do believe in the three exceptions, other people don’t. And you have to follow your heart. I do think it’s very hard to get elected without the exceptions, frankly, but that’s up to them. Ronald Reagan had the exceptions. I had the exceptions, so that’s up to them. But, you know, as a candidate, let’s say as a candidate, it’s really up to them what they do and they have to follow what they believe. But I think it’s very hard to get elected without, you know, having that whole situation, as Ronald Reagan did it and as I did it. With respect to the three exceptions, I think it’s very important. [00:09:50][104.6]
STARNES: [00:09:50] Promises made, promises delivered, Mr. President. And we just keep reminding people of that. And we know you’re going to do it again. And I know our time is expiring here and we really appreciate you taking a few minutes with our national audience. [00:10:01][10.9]
TRUMP: [00:10:03] Well, I appreciate you, Todd, And it’s an honor. And I’m always with you and you’ve always been with me. And that’s why I talk to you. And I don’t talk to some others. I’ll be honest with you [00:10:12][9.1]
STARNES: [00:10:12] Well, we appreciate that. [00:10:13][0.8]
TRUMP: [00:10:13] You’re a terrific guy. [00:10:14][0.5]
STARNES: [00:10:15] All right. Thanks again, Mr. President. [00:10:16][1.2]
TRUMP: [00:10:17] Thank you very much, Todd. I’ll see you soon [00:10:19][1.6]
