The 60-year-old former nurse says it’s “hard to say” whether Trump is right about President Obama wiretapping him in Trump Tower.
“There’s a woman saying that it did happen, and there’s a kind of denial from Obama’s spokesman,” Colgan said. “By that I mean a denial that no one in the White House authorized a wiretap isn’t exactly a denial that there wasn’t a wiretap at all. So, at this point, I don’t really know what to believe.”
Colgan also dissents from conservative orthodoxy on who should look into Trump’s ties to Russia.
A week after his congressman, Darrell Issa, backed off his call for a special prosecutor, Colgan said: “The truth should come out, regardless. And so whatever accomplishes that should be done.”
What happens if FBI and other investigations show Trump is in cahoots with Russian President Vladimir Putin?
“I think the whole thing is way overblown,” Colgan said in his latest chat with Times of San Diego. “If it were proven that he compromised the nation, I guess he’d have to [be] tried on that. But all that the Russians (or whomever) did when the DNC server was hacked was expose just how Hillary and the DNC conspired to steal the nomination from Bernie. I can see how that would embarrass the Democratic Party (and so inspire their efforts in this). I’m not sure that embarrassing politicians rates as a crime.”
Contrary to perceptions that Trump fans read only news sources that cater to them, Colgan said he’s a daily reader of Times of San Diego and The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“Not much for TV news,” he says. “And I have friends on Facebook who will post articles that interest them, and so are shared by them. Sometimes, those shared articles interest me as well.”
This interview was conducted by email Sunday and Monday:
Times of San Diego: Do you think Trump is right about being wiretapped by Obama?
Sean Colgan: Hard to say. There’s a woman saying that it did happen, and there’s a kind of denial from Obama’s spokesman. By that I mean a denial that no one in the White House authorized a wiretap isn’t exactly a denial that there wasn’t a wiretap at all. So, at this point, I don’t really know what to believe. But, I don’t think that Obama has any fealty to the law. He certainly doesn’t have any to the Constitution.
So, at this point, while I don’t know that Obama did wiretap Candidate Trump’s phone, he wouldn’t surprise me if he did.
Indivisible has been likened to the Tea Party, with many Republican lawmakers hesitant to hold Town Halls. Are you concerned that these protesters, and the mass marches of Jan. 21 and later, signal that the House and Senate could go blue in 2018?
Not really. The TEA Party connected with the Common Man because they devised a way to deliver a good message. Indivisible can use the same tactics, but they can’t deliver a message that connects as well. Simply because they don’t have a message that good. The brouhaha over the hacking of the DNC server is a good example. Yes, someone (maybe Russia) hacked in. But releasing the details of how the nomination was stolen from Bernie isn’t exactly a matter of national security. And “matters of national security” weren’t going to be found on the DNC server in the first place.
Last May, you said in our first chat that Trump should “absolutely” make public his tax returns. Do you still believe this — even at the risk of revealing unsavory ties to Russia?
In spite of there being no *requirement* that he do so, I still favor the release of his tax returns. I have zero concerns that there’s anything unsavory (with the Russians or anyone else) in there. But given the sheer complexity of the task, and that it isn’t just his information, I’m not sure how that can be done.
Trump’s first speech to a joint session of Congress dialed back the “American carnage” tone of his Inaugural Address. Is Trump becoming more presidential? What did you like most about the speech?
That he is becoming more “presidential” in tone. How a message is imparted matters. Not as much as the what, but it does matter. I think he’s finally getting over that “stage fright” I mentioned before.
Are you confident that Trump will deliver on his major promises — such as a border wall and deportations of criminal undocumented immigrants — even though Democrats can still filibuster in the Senate?
Yes, The Democrats can still filibuster. But as Obama proved, there’s a lot that can be done with executive orders. Obama halted the execution of the law (DACA, for instance). All President Trump has to do is merely have the current laws enforced to achieve a lot of his promises. And there are limits to how much blocking the Democrats can do. President Trump can put in judges who believe in obeying the Constitution, for instance, because the ability of the Democrats to prevent isn’t as great as it was. They can still hinder the effort to putting Judge Gorsuch in at SCOTUS, but doing so would only (further) show Democratic pettiness.
The press is reporting a war within the White House — the Steve Bannon faction vs. the Establishment Reince Priebus faction, with leaks coming from everywhere. Does Trump need to clean house?
He may need to enforce the concept that they’re all on the same side, but the only housecleaning that needs to be done is to get the rest of his people in, and the last of Obama’s people out. And given the proclivity of the press to overblow things, I’m not [seeing] things are all that warlike.
Trump calls certain major news outlets as “enemies of the people.” This phrase has been used by dictators of the past. Do you agree that certain media outlets are spreading false stories by citing anonymous sources?
The comparison with the words of dictators of the past is unfair. A phrase can be said by a dictator and still be true. And it isn’t the use of anonymous sources that’s the problem. It’s the lack of sticking to the facts that’s the problem. Along with the lack of fair comparison, that’s the problem. (See next answer.) And of course, President Trump didn’t say that “the press” is the enemy of the people, but *certain* outlets. Which I would agree with.
How do you regard local media outlets as far as accuracy and fairness to the White House? Are the Union-Tribune, local TV stations and online outlets like Voice of San Diego and Times of San Diego reporting on Trump truthfully?
There’s a near-constant cry about how President Trump’s policies affect “immigration.” There was a recent headline in the U-T about how immigrants have new things to worry about. That just wasn’t true. *Immigrants* had nothing new to worry about. *Illegal aliens* had something new to worry about, but they are NOT “immigrants.” In fact, President Trump hasn’t done anything about “immigration” yet. What he has done concerns illegal entry, and the handling of refugees (specifically, making sure they ARE refugees). And the difference between those subjects is immense. And of course, the hack into the DNC server, while it does matter, doesn’t involve national security. Nor did it ever.
Do you think the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, will be repealed or just “repaired”? Or neither? What’s your gripe with Obamacare, if you have one?
“Repair” and “replace” mean the same thing. Whatever the effort gets called, Obamacare can’t stay as it is. I don’t have a personal gripe with it.
But Obama flat-out LIED to We The People. “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” was just the biggest lie, not the only one. It wasn’t a matter of things didn’t turn out as intended.
Keeping your doctor was never the plan. But I also see that people are paying WAY more than they were. I see that people are having their work hours cut to 29 hours a week, because working more than that requires enrollment in a health plan (which means that lots of people now don’t have a health plan, AND they make less money too). And, in spite in the simply monstrous amounts of money being spent, Obamacare only gave coverage to about 20 million people. That only looks good. Because the reality is that it left nothing for the other 25 million who didn’t (and still don’t) have coverage. With no money left to take care of them. This is something that is not being covered by the press. At least, not as prominently as it should be covered (which would be another example of the lack of fairness in coverage).
Trump is pushing a $1 trillion infrastructure project to rebuild America, but many independent analysts say he can’t pay for this with his current tax plans and proposals for cuts in other departments. Do you think Trump can do this without adding to the deficit?
If the whole picture is kept in mind, yes. Evicting 11 million people who have no right to be here would save TONS of money. It would also lower the need for more housing. Those people who used to build houses could then build roads, bridges, dams and such.
As for housing, a return to real capitalism would help a great deal as well. “Capitalism” is a system of profit AND LOSS. The “loss” part has pretty much disappeared. Starting with the “bailout” in 2009 (which BOTH parties inflicted on us). We need a return to that concept.
Are you confident that Trump is “draining the swamp” even though Wall Street billionaires dominate his Cabinet?
“Draining the swamp” never referred to how much money a person (honestly) makes. It referred to how dishonest and corrupt a government official or employee is. The presence of billionaires in the Cabinet doesn’t bother me. Having corrupt officials and employees in the government bothers me quite a bit. The Clinton Foundation, as merely the biggest example of corruption, bothered me a whole lot.
Some news outlets are reporting that Trump voters are expressing “buyer’s remorse.” Have you sensed that in any of your North County conservative cohorts?
No remorse from anyone I know. The group I “hang with” sees a great deal of tumult over stuff that is either inaccurately reported or overblown by the Democrats (helped by the press). I mean, geez, President Trump has only been in office for less than two months. Those who pay attention to the facts (which would be the group I hang with) see more being done by Trump in those two months than some administrations accomplished in two years.
Do you trust Trump and his national security team to safely and effectively handle an international crisis?
Yes. Businessmen know how the world works. They have to, or they don’t stay in business. The advantage of having billionaires in the Cabinet is that President Trump has guys who have been VERY successful at their jobs (as was Mr. Trump himself). The difference now is that instead of working in that environment, they get to work to change it.
How is the San Diego County Republican Party doing? Have any critique of the local GOP leadership?
I was always more a Trump guy than a GOP guy. That means that I pay more attention to DC than the local stuff. Which means that I can’t really give an informed critique of the local GOP. Sorry.
