‘Like Listening to Nixon Drunk Rambling’

Anderson Cooper hosted the authors of the new book I Alone Can Fix It, who provided CNN with exclusive audio of an interview they conducted with former president Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago in March.

Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker joined Cooper Wednesday to discuss their book, as well as the audio.

“That wasn’t my rally per se,” said Trump, of the January 6 rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. Trump gave the keynote speech at the event, during which he repeated the false claim that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him. Later that day, a violent mob stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election as lawmakers were certifying it.

“It was a loving crowd,” said Trump. “It was too bad.”

Trump claimed he would not have urged the crowd to enter the Capitol, but said that “they were ushered in by the police. I mean in all fairness, the Capitol Police were ushering people in.”

The ex-president claimed police and the trespassers were “hugging.”

“I mean, personally what I wanted is what they wanted. They showed up just to show support because I happen to believe the election was rigged at a level like nothing has ever been rigged before. There’s tremendous proof. There’s tremendous proof. Statistically, it wasn’t even possible that [Joe Biden] won.”

Rucker asked, “Did you need better lawyers? Because they took it to court…”

“No,” replied Trump. “I needed better judges.”

Trump went on from there, raving about thousands of dead voters, obituaries, how "Indians got paid to vote," and more.

After playing the clip, Cooper said, “This is like listening to Nixon drunk, rambling, except he’s not drunk. He’s just rambling and that he still is holding onto all these lies.”

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'Put the Phone Down Bro'

The New York Mets TV announcers aren’t letting anything slide in Cincinnati. After play-by-play voice Gary Cohen absolutely destroyed the city for their beloved skyline chili earlier in the week, analyst Ron Darling sounded off on a Reds fan Wednesday afternoon.

“I think that fella’s gonna need to head to the Verizon store,” Cohen said after Mets third baseman Jonathan Villar hit a second-inning home run, landing over the wall and into the hands of a Reds fan who was still holding their phone.

“I mean, put the phone down bro, you’re watching a game!” Darling ranted as they replayed every angle.