BRIAN WILLIAMS (HOST): Katy, was there anything different about today, having covered countless [Donald] Trump events on the road like it?
KATY TUR: Certainly different. This was a room not filled with Donald Trump supporters from rallies, but rather a number of GOP -- New York GOPers, some friends and family, and then just tourists who came in literally from off the street, Brian. They heard about it and they asked if they could get in. Secret Service swept them and they sat down, a little bit gobsmacked that they were able to get in so easily and that this wasn’t an event that had more invitees here. That being said, it was typical in the way that Donald Trump spent a good portion of the time talking about, frankly, himself, relitigating the primaries, talking about all the deals he's made. Also, perpetuating this idea that he was against the Iraq war when he was not. He spent 29 minutes before he got to Governor Mike Pence [(R-IN)]. And he said part of the reason why he chose him -- and he admitted this -- was that he needed party unity, that he's an outsider and that he needed somebody who would smooth over relations in Washington.
Governor Pence also said that he was told Wednesday night about being chosen as VP. That goes against what Donald Trump said Thursday night on Fox News, saying that he still wasn't decided, that he hadn't made his final, final decision, that it was still down to Newt Gingrich, Chris Christie and Governor Pence. So it begs the question, who exactly told Governor Pence that he was the running mate and whether Donald Trump was not telling the truth on Fox, and trying to continue this suspense. Or whether he was in fact still waffling.
I also want to say that Donald Trump spent 29 minutes before he -- talking about himself mostly -- before he went to Governor Pence. If you’re going to compare this to past VP introductions, Mitt Romney spent 8 minutes and 30 seconds before getting to Paul Ryan. The majority of his remarks were focused around Ryan and the job he did in Wisconsin and how he was able to stand up to the establishment, not necessarily stand up to the establishment, but not be somebody divisive in Washington, and how he would bring people together, and how he was fighting for the little guy. And we’re talking about George W. Bush, he introduced Dick Cheney just after seven minutes, again spending much of the time espousing, or talking, praising Dick Cheney's values and Dick Cheney's qualifications for that office. Donald Trump did not necessarily do that. Much of the speech was what we see every day, or most days when we go to these rallies. It was about him, it's about what he has done, the fight that he has gone through to get this nomination. And now he won. And how basically this nomination is his, not anybody else's, not his running mate's. It going to be his platform and his ideas alone.
