Trump Is Stoked That He and 9/11 Both Killed It in the Ratings

On Sunday, the Associated Press published the full transcript of a lengthy Oval Office interview with President Donald Trump ahead of his first 100 days in office.

While much of the conversation was alarmingly [UNINTELLIGIBLE], one part of it was crystal clear: The president’s joy at matching 9/11 in the ratings. That’s right: One of the best things Donald Trump can say about himself is that he brings together TV viewers the same way a massive terrorist attack does.

Here’s the transcript (note that Trump, who literally forgets which countries he’s bombed, is razor-sharp when it comes to the Nielsen figures):

AP: […] that’s one of the difficulties I think presidents have had is that you can have these personal relationships with people from the other party, but then it’s hard to actually change how people vote or change how people —

TRUMP: No I have, it’s interesting, I have, seem to get very high ratings. I definitely. You know Chris Wallace had 9.2 million people, it’s the highest in the history of the show. I have all the ratings for all those morning shows. When I go, they go double, triple. Chris Wallace, look back during the Army-Navy football game, I did his show that morning.

AP: I remember, right.

TRUMP: It had 9.2 million people. It’s the highest they’ve ever had. On any, on air, (CBS “Face the Nation” host John) Dickerson had 5.2 million people. It’s the highest for “Face the Nation” or as I call it, “Deface the Nation.

TRUMP (continued) It’s the highest for “Deface the Nation” since the World Trade Center. Since the World Trade Center came down. It’s a tremendous advantage.