MSNBC analyst laughs off White House move to hide Trump's 'meandering' transcripts

A decision by Donald Trump's White House to remove transcripts of his public remarks from the government website where they have previously resided drew a sarcastic response from The Bulwark's managing editor on Thursday morning.

Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" with co-host Jonathan Lemire, Sam Stein admitted he was not surprised because transcribing the president's speeches and public remarks has always been a thankless task.

According to an NBC News report, "As recently as Sunday, transcripts of Trump’s speeches and comments were still showing up in the 'Remarks' section of WhiteHouse.gov. The next day, they were gone, snapshots of the site from an internet archive show. The only transcript appearing now is of Trump’s inaugural address on Jan. 20."

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"It is a blow to transparency, but we are, you know, several days into a wide-ranging debate about President Biden and his ability to perform the job there, especially near the end of his term," Lemire began as he welcomed his guest.

"And part of what is pointed to is evidence that he no longer was, was his words, his transcripts. They eliminate like, 'well, that doesn't it's hard to follow, it doesn't make sense.' The same can be said about President Trump."

"Look, I agree it's not in the spirit of transparency; I would prefer that they put the transcripts up. I will also say that, like if you've ever tried to transcribe Trump, it's downright impossible," Stein remarked. "I mean, the guy meanders, he drifts. So the value add for the transcripts is limited."

"And also, and I'm not trying to poo-poo this as a story, but I think part of the issue is there's like 18 other scandals simultaneously occurring," he laughed. "Like he just took a $400 million Qatari jet, and so you try to like, you know, point your outrage at a few things at a time."

He then admitted, "And I haven't been able to get totally worked up at the transcripts, so long as they're still posting the videos, which I think at least they're doing that. But, you know, by and large, of course I want them to do transcripts."

You can watch below or at the link.