Latest / INSIGHT TODAY / Trump has 'squandered' any expectations of American leadership on the world stage John Kirby

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Trump has 'squandered' any expectations of American leadership on the world stage John Kirby · INSIGHT TODAY

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  Speaker 1: Joining us, former Pentagon spokesperson and retired U.S. Navy Rear
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  Speaker 1: Admiral John Kirby. You know, where to begin, John, where
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  Speaker 1: to begin? I want to start with, you know, all
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the international crises, but how do you go anywhere if
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: these nations are not first addressing what seems to be
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: an existential threat or at least a catastrophic threat? And
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  Speaker 1: that's A.I.
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  Speaker 2: I'm sure it won't be like the lead headline event
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  Speaker 2: of the year in General Assembly this week, but I
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  Speaker 2: can guarantee you that it'll absolutely be on the minds
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  Speaker 2: and on the tongues of all the diplomats that are
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  Speaker 2: gathering in New York because it is a global potential
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  Speaker 2: problem here. I mean, a global threat. but it also
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  Speaker 2: offers promise globally in medical research, for instance. And so
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  Speaker 2: I have no doubt that these diplomats will be talking
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  Speaker 2: in a bilateral fashion with their counterparts, but in a
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  Speaker 2: multilateral fashion as well about how they can get their
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  Speaker 2: arms around AI.
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  Speaker 1: OK, so let's start with I mean, we can start
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: with Iran. Donald Trump needs help with Iran. We are
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  Speaker 1: in a stalemate. The Strait of Hormuz is still very
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  Speaker 1: much a problem. He's tried to bully our friends into
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  Speaker 1: helping him along with it. That has not worked. Saudi
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  Speaker 1: Arabia now is on fire, having its own problems with
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  Speaker 1: the Houthis. Donald Trump has so far turned his back
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  Speaker 1: on them. What can he do right now to help himself,
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  Speaker 1: help this country?
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  Speaker 3: I think Mr.
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  Speaker 2: Trump, if he wants to help himself and help this
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  Speaker 2: country and end this war, he's going to have to
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  Speaker 2: find a way back to the table. You're not going
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  Speaker 2: to bomb the Iranians and this regime into compliance.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, they've proven that that's just not going to work.
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  Speaker 2: It's also not going to work to open up the
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  Speaker 2: Strait of Hormuz. So you've got to have to find
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  Speaker 2: a credible way back to the table. The challenge with
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  Speaker 2: that is that the people that Mr.
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  Speaker 3: Witkoff and Mr.
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  Speaker 2: Kushner are talking to, the elected leadership, while they want
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  Speaker 2: to negotiate an end... are not the ones who actually
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  Speaker 2: have their finger on the trigger. That's literally the Revolutionary
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  Speaker 2: Guard and the hardliners and the supreme leader. So you've
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  Speaker 2: got to find a way to credibly get back to
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  Speaker 2: the table. And that's not going to be an easy
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  Speaker 2: thing right now. It's difficult for anybody. And I'm sure
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  Speaker 2: the diplomats in New York are seeing this, too. Difficult
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  Speaker 2: for anybody to see an exit ramp here where this
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  Speaker 2: war can end quickly and efficiently and get the global
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  Speaker 2: economy back on track.
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  Speaker 3: So there's also a Greenland agreement.
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  Speaker 1: This is according to Reuters.
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  Speaker 3: The agreement to be signed at the U.N.
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  Speaker 1: General Assembly in New York on Tuesday has not been
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  Speaker 1: made public, though President Donald Trump says it grants the U.S.
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  Speaker 1: permanent control. What more can you tell us about, I guess,
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  Speaker 1: what you expect out of this?
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  Speaker 2: I expect something a little bit less sanguine than what Mr.
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  Speaker 3: Trump is talking about.
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  Speaker 2: The Danes are not going to give up their sovereignty
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  Speaker 2: over Greenland and the Greenlanders don't want that either.
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  Speaker 3: I suspect that when we see this deal.
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  Speaker 2: It will look very much like what Denmark was offering
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  Speaker 2: Donald Trump. After his first set of bellicose threats against Greenland,
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  Speaker 2: which is, hey, you want a bigger footprint?
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  Speaker 3: We're all for it. You want more exercises and operations?
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  Speaker 3: We're for that, too.
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  Speaker 2: And if you want to keep other foreign governments away
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  Speaker 2: from Greenland, well, of course, we.
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  Speaker 3: Don't want that either.
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  Speaker 2: So I think they're packaging up basically what they had
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  Speaker 2: agreed to before.
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  Speaker 3: And of course, this administration will probably overplay it.
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  Speaker 2: Probably brag about it and probably make it sound like
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  Speaker 2: it's a little bit more automatic U.S. control than it
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  Speaker 2: actually represents.
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  Speaker 1: It's done a lot of damage to our relationships with
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  Speaker 1: our allies. Let me talk to you about Russia.
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  Speaker 3: There's no question. I mean, there's no question about that, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, one of the things that will be on
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  Speaker 2: the backdrop here at UNGA is the degree to which
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  Speaker 2: the United States has squandered the trust and confidence of
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  Speaker 2: our allies and partners in And I'm not just talking
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  Speaker 2: about NATO, although NATO is right here front and center
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  Speaker 2: with Greenland, but our allies in the Pacific as well.
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  Speaker 2: We have we have squandered any expectation of American leadership
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  Speaker 2: on the world stage.
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  Speaker 3: And there's no question that that will also be a
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  Speaker 3: backdrop here.
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  Speaker 1: Donald Trump might meet with Zelensky. He's blaming the Ukrainians
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  Speaker 1: for bombing Russia and making diesel more expensive. Does it
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  Speaker 1: make diesel more expensive?
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  Speaker 2: Well, the war is certainly doing nothing to bring prices
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  Speaker 2: of oil and, in this case, diesel down.
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  Speaker 3: There's no question about it. But let's be honest.
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  Speaker 2: What really sent energy costs soaring was Mr. Trump's decision,
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  Speaker 2: almost unilaterally, to go bomb Iran and start a war
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  Speaker 2: that now he can't end. And that has caused the
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  Speaker 2: price of oil to go up. That has benefited Mr. Putin,
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  Speaker 2: the higher cost of oil and gas. He's benefiting from
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  Speaker 2: that and he's turning that money right around into his
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  Speaker 2: wartime coffers. So it's certainly done nothing to end the
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  Speaker 2: Ukrainian war, but it is not. The Ukrainian war is
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  Speaker 2: not the reason why diesel prices or gas prices are higher.
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  Speaker 3: It's about Iran. It's about straight whore moves. It's about
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  Speaker 3: the war that Mr. Trump started.
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  Speaker 1: Can I get a quick comment on the Paul brothers
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  Speaker 1: visiting the Pentagon? I think we have an image of it.
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  Speaker 3: We can show them.
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  Speaker 2: Even when I was at the Pentagon over many, many years,
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  Speaker 2: we would have celebrities come in to spend time with
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  Speaker 2: the troops and talk to them. And that's a fine
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  Speaker 2: thing and a great thing. I'm not sure that these
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  Speaker 2: two individuals were the right two. Well, let me put
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  Speaker 2: it another way. I know these two individuals were not
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  Speaker 2: the kinds of two individuals you want speaking to our
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  Speaker 2: men and women in uniform, not given the controversy over.
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  Speaker 2: many of their comments, many of their activities, whether it's
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  Speaker 2: sexual abuse allegations or racism or cryptocurrency speculation. These are
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  Speaker 2: not role models that I want the young men and
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  Speaker 2: women who are serving in uniform to have to hear
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  Speaker 2: from and to potentially look up to.
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  Speaker 3: So if I had been there, I would have advised
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  Speaker 3: them not to come. But obviously, you know, Mr. Hegseth
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  Speaker 3: will make his own decisions.
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  Speaker 2: But I think it's a real shame that these folks
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  Speaker 2: were given a platform in front of our men and women.
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  Speaker 3: John Kirby, always good to have you.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us.
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  Speaker 3: My pleasure.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: Hey, it's me, Rachel Maddow.
• 6:01
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