Ari Fleischer On Donald Trump's Flag Burning Tweet: 'This Is Who He Is'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer reacted to Donald Trump tweeting this morning that people who burn the flag should be punished, urging everyone not to overreact to the President-elect's usage of social media.
Fleischer told Chris Stigall during an interview on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that Trump is continuing to break with political norms.
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
"This is who Donald Trump is and I think the most important thing in a President is authenticity and people are sick and tired of traditional politicians who do everything perfectly. They know how to pucker their lips perfectly. They know how to dress perfectly. Everything they say is focus-grouped so it doesn't offend enough people. Trump is the exact opposite. So, there's a piece of me that enjoys the spectacle of this, as long as he doesn't go too far. Frankly, I disagree with him on the legalities of what he said with the flag burning, but I certainly agree with him on the sentiment of it. I don't care for people who do this one bit."
He does not believe Trump's views on flag burning will find their way into the law.
"Donald is not king and he knows that too. I think there's a difference between him tweeting something and him sending legislative language to Capitol Hill for scrutiny and passing in the committee. That's what he did, he tweeted. I think Donald Trump, despite him being President-elect and about to be President, uses Twitter the way you and I do, to share his opinions."
Fleischer said that Trump was elected because he represented change and the things he writes on Twitter should not always be taken at face value.
"I've always tried to understand Donald Trump, where he's coming from, and why and I've always got it in my gut about how fed up people are with politicians. So I give him latitude and I don't get too terribly offended by things like this because, as the famous expression now goes, I don't always take him literally, but I do take him seriously."
