NBC News anchor Lester Holt revealed what was on the paper President Trump handed to him at the outset of their interview on Thursday: a list of 20 Democratic quotes ripping FBI Director James Comey that Holt called a "fair point."
On Friday's "Today" show, Holt reviewed his interview with Trump that delved into the president's surprising firing of Comey. Host Savannah Guthrie relayed that viewers noticed Trump hand Holt a document of some sort before they sat down.
.@JoeNBC What was on the paper Trump handed Lester Holt?
— Jo Diffenbaugh (@JoDiffenbaugh) May 12, 2017
Trump Hands Paper to Lester Holt: "These Are The Questions Allowed Today" LOL: https://t.co/0xajS6sPg7 via @YouTube
— MomoTV (@WatchingMomo) May 11, 2017
Holt brought the document to the studio, saying it was "five pages of quotes of Democrats who have been critical of Comey."
"A few calling for his resignation, calling for his firing, being critical," he said. "There were about 20 quotes on here, but the president wanted me to have that. And it makes a fair point that a lot of Democrats were not happy with Comey either, many believing that he torpedoed Hillary Clinton's chances."
Holt said he got the sense that the White House did not see the blowback to the Comey dismissal coming for that reason.
Mirroring Trump, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders reeled off a list of Democrats who previously blasted Comey during Thursday's press briefing.
The Washington Free Beacon produced a video Thursday showing the changing Democratic views of Comey after the Hillary Clinton email press conference he gave last summer, his late-October letter about the investigation, and then his firing by Trump.
Trump made considerable news during his interview with Holt, including contradicting his own White House's explanation on why he fired Comey by saying he planned to terminate him regardless of any Justice Department recommendation.