Below is the transcript from an interview with Alex Holder, a filmmaker, that aired on Sunday, July 10, 2022 on Face the Nation.
ROBERT COSTA. During the last weeks of Trump’s presidency, which included the attack on the Capitol, Alex Holder, a British filmmaker, had behind-the scenes access to Trump and his circle of friends as part of a documentary. The committee investigating the attack subpoenaed the footage that Holder’s team had gathered. Investigators interviewed Holder to try and piece together the events. Today’s Discovery+ premiere of Unprecedented, a three-part documentary series by Alex Holder, is live. He will be here this morning. Alex, good morning.
ALEX HOLDER Morning.
ROBERT COSTA – Your documentary has powerful footage from the January 6th violence. Intensely, your documentary also features the Trump family. Is there any guilt?
HOLDER: In my interactions with them, I don’t think so. HOLDER: I think President Trump doubled down on his position when I interviewed him at Mar a Lago. He even said that protesters entered the Capitol on January 6 because they believed the election had been stolen or that someone else told them. With respect to his children, they refused to discuss January 6. It is for others to decide what their silence means.
ROBERT COSTA. You and your team captured this incredible moment in January 2021, when Vice President Pence has to face a decision regarding whether or not to invoke the 25th Amendment. Let’s take an in-depth look at this moment.
SOT ON TAP: Pelosi: I am joining the Senate Democratic leader in calling for the Vice President’s resignation by immediately invoking 25th Amendment. (break) The Congress might be ready to proceed with impeachment if the vice president and cabinet fail to act.
Pence: 7:48?
Staff: This is what I got. It was not available to the House members until a while ago.
Pence: Yeah, excellent.
Pence: Zack, print me a hardcopy of the itinerary for my trip home. I am always optimistic about America.
Believe that America’s greatest days are yet ahead. That belief is still mine.”
(Editor’s Note: A spokesperson for Pence denied Holder’s description of the scene. He said that Pence was reacting to confirmation that Speaker Pelosi had rejected her attempt to invoke the 25th Amendment.
ROBERT COASTA: What were you able to see behind the scenes of the January 6th committee’s meeting?
ALEX HOLDER : That day was quite extraordinary. We are now six days after January sixth’s events. We saw things in the corridors, at desks that were known to be upended and chairs outside as they were moving out for the new administration. There was a very depressed, dour mood in the building at that moment. The vice president’s aides were also there, but we weren’t whispering. It was very uncomfortable. The Vice President then walks in and he sits down. This is probably because that day he was the most famous man on the planet. This was because it was all about 25th Amendment and whether or not he would invoke this procedure. It was an amazing day. He sat down on the chair, with his assistant holding each phone. Our Director of Photography also saw it from the Speaker’s Office. We captured the moment and also the aftermath. We were literally walking through history as we made this documentary. I hope you will watch it and witness these amazing moments unfold.
ROBERT COSTA – You were walking through the history. You were again with Trump’s family, and you cast them again and again as a family, but also as a brand. It’s a brand that can’t accept defeat. Are you convinced that the former president will run again
ALEX HOLDER (Ok, I don’t know if I heard it or not): I mean, I have been close to him. He tends not to do the same thing twice if he fails. The reason I believe that is the case, as the series shows, it is all about the brand. Trump is all about the word Trump. The association of Trump to failure is something he cannot accept and his children can’t. He would not accept the possibility that it might happen again or that he might fail again. He might be willing to take the chance. He might not take the risk. We’ll see. He says that we will see.
ROBERT COASTA: You talked to President Trump about democracy. What was the result of that conversation?
ALEX HOLDER – I don’t think he understands what it means. He was there in front of me in the White House on, you see, four to five days after his own Attorney General said that there is no evidence to back his claims of election fraud. He’s given me many different reasons why there are election issues and how to intervene. We need courageous and brave judges. This isn’t a man that really understands democracy.
ROBERT COSTA – You have probably spent more time with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump than anyone outside of the Trump family. Do you think they want to keep the Trump brand alive politically? What if not 2024? In the future? They are yours.
ALEX HOLDER : I don’t think they would. Don Jr. He certainly came across in my interactions with him. He will be able to show that he is interested in politics, I believe. He also gives a fascinating background to his political awakening. Eric will not see it as much, and Ivanka may, but I believe that it is there. These series show the family’s dynamic and how it works. It shows the children’s relationship with their father, as well as the relationships between them.
ROBERT COSTA – Alex Holder, we are so grateful for your visit. We appreciate it.
