Retired Brigadier General Remo Butler joins CNN's Carol Costello to discuss Donald Trump, the military advice he is receiving, Trump's foreign policy thinking, being black and supporting Trump, Trump's outreach to minority communities and much more.



Joe Madison: Black General Supporting Trump Remo Butler "In Denial" Of Who The F***" He Is



"How can you support Donald Trump when clearly you don't agree with some of the things that he said?" Costello grilled Butler.



"It was a big decision point to come on CNN and do this. Especially as a black man," Ret. Brigadier General Butler told Costello.



Butler said while not all black people support Trump, there is a "silent majority of black people" who do.



"As you can see I don't wear my hair in dreadlocks because I don't have hair. Two, I speak fairly well, people can understand me. Three, I don't live in a black neighborhood so I'm not really worried about going out, getting shot. Most of my friends are like me. We are, as Reagan said, the silent majority," Butler said.



"There is a silent majority of black people -- and you notice I don't use the term African American -- of black people out there," he said. "And I believe that a lot of those people want the same things that Donald Trump wants. But you have to show those people, me included, that you really want what I want and you will help me achieve what I want. Don't take us for granted."



"And like I said, the [Democratic] Party, for so long has taken black and Latinos for granted. They just don't even campaign," Ret. Brigadier General Butler said.



From Tuesday's broadcast of CNN Newsroom:





CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST, "NEWSROOM": And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thanks so much for joining me. Hours from now Donald Trump speaks in Virginia Beach on the heels of a new show of support from military leaders. This morning the Trump campaign revealing the endorsement of 88 retired U.S. Generals and Admirals. The group signing a letter that in part rips the Obama administration. "America's armed forces have been subjected to a series of ill- considered and debilitating budget cuts."



With me now is one of the 88 military officials who signed that letter, retired Brigadier General, Remo Butler. Welcome, Sir.



REMO BUTLER, RETIRED BRIGADIER GENERAL: Thank you very much, Carol. How are you this morning?



COSTELLO: I'm good, I'm -- I'm good and thank you so much for being here. Why did you throw your support behind Donald Trump?



BUTLER: I threw my support behind Donald Trump primarily because of some of the military people that he has surrounded himself with. And when I say that, I'm not saying it lightly. I'm saying that Donald Trump has surrounded himself with what I consider military leaders, warriors, statesmen, diplomats ...



COSTELLO: Who, specifically, Sir, so we know?



BUTLER: Pardon me?



COSTELLO: Who, specifically, Sir, so we know?



BUTLER: Oh I'll tell you. One of the -- my all time heroes is retired General Sidney Shachnow. A lot of credibility in the community. Keith Kellogg, another retired General, good friend of mine, and a huge warrior. Major General Gary Harrell. These are all retired folks that I have a lot of faith in. I've worked with them before, I have a lot of confidence in them and they're working with Donald Trump right now. And they're advising him. And they say he is listening to their advice.



And I think that that's what he needs. No one is supremely intelligent. And if he takes their advice and listens to what they say and then makes his decision, I think that we'll have a great armed forces.



COSTELLO: Now wait a minute, if he takes their advice. What exactly do you mean by that?



BUTLER: Well if you remember, if you were Commander, you have a staff.



COSTELLO: Uh-huh.



BUTLER: People give you advice. You don't have to take their advice, but they will give you the best advice. At the end of the day the Commander will make his own decisions. So those people, I know, will give him some great advice. Now, at the end of the day, if he takes that advice ...



COSTELLO: And by that do you mean because -- I'm just trying to understand. Because a lot of people -- you know, one of the criticisms that the Democrats have, for example -- is that Donald Trump has said that he knows more than the generals. Is that what you're talking about when you say ...



BUTLER: No ...



COSTELLO: ... if he takes our advice?



BUTLER: No, I'm not talking about that at all. I'm talking about let's say CNN, you have a boss and your boss might ask you a question. You will give him the best advice that you possibly can, correct?



COSTELLO: Yes.



BUTLER: Yes. And if he takes it, fine, great. If he doesn't take that advice, then you will say, "that was my best advice, now what do you want me to do?" And you will execute to the best of your ability.



COSTELLO: Gotcha. There have been many other military officials who have thrown their support behind Hillary Clinton because of some of the things that Donald Trump has said. For example he has suggested that we return to torturing terrorism suspects. He has said that he wants to kill the family members of terrorists. Do those things concern you?



BUTLER: Yes, they did concern me. And I'll tell you why. A lot of times people say things, not really understanding the consequences of their statements. I believe that with the people that he has working for him now, that are advising him now, those statements are moot. You know, we all learn from our past mistakes ...



COSTELLO: So you think, so you think Donald Trump thinks that those statements were a mistake?



BUTLER: I would never, ever try to tell you what he thinks. What I am saying, and I'll say it again, is that sometimes we say things based on the knowledge that we have right now. I think if he listens to his advisors, they will advise him on things that he can do and cannot do. It's up to him at the end of the day to make the right decision.



COSTELLO: Do you think it might be a little too late? For example, the Dallas newspaper this morning, it's editorial board wrote a quite anti-Trump editorial. And I'll just read part of it for you. It says,



"Trump pledges to make our military so big, so powerful, so strong that nobody, absolutely nobody is going to mess with us. But what does he want to do with that military? He says he supports killing the families of Muslim terrorists and allowing interrogation methods a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding. And if the military balks at obeying such orders? 'If I say do it, they're going to do it,' Trump says."



So ...



BUTLER: Well, you know ...



COSTELLO: What ...



BUTLER: ... as well as I do that within our system of democracy there's a system called checks and balances. Even as the Chief Executive, the President of the United States, he cannot do anything that he wants to do. Because we have a Supreme Court and a Congress that serve as checks and balances. And there are enough people who would do that, would take that mission upon themselves to check him. And someone will say, "Mr. President, that's illegal, you can't do that." And believe me, he's not going to do that.



COSTELLO: But don't you think that ...



BUTLER: People some -- sometimes people ...



COSTELLO: ... don't you think that our allies overseas hear those things ...



BUTLER: Yes, they do.



COSTELLO: ... or our enemies -- hear those things.



BUTLER: You're absolutely ...



COSTELLO: ... and that might ...



BUTLER: You're absolutely ...



COSTELLO: Right ...



BUTLER: Go ahead.



COSTELLO: ... so if I'm, so if I'm right, how can you support Donald Trump when clearly you don't agree with some of the things that he said?



BUTLER: And again, you're absolutely right that our allies are listening to him. And they're making their own decisions on what to say and what to do. The place that you've put me in is, yes he said some things that I don't totally agree with, and I'll be the first to admit that.



But again, as I said, people grow. Hopefully he is growing and learning. And there are enough people on his team -- and he has a new team, basically -- that will take him and help him find the right path to success. I believe also that at some point in time ...



COSTELLO: Do you think that the country can afford that when we're fighting an enemy like ISIS?



BUTLER: Ma'am ...



COSTELLO: To wait for our Commander in Chief to learn?



BUTLER: He's not our Commander in Chief yet, is he?



COSTELLO: Well he may be.



BUTLER: He may be and by the time he becomes Commander in Chief he should have learned those lessons. We all, we also ...



COSTELLO: That's like 62 days away though.



BUTLER: I know but we also must acknowledge that many times, especially today in the world today, you must deal from a position of strength. You cannot show weakness to some of our enemies. You must say things sometimes so they understand that you're very, very serious.



COSTELLO: Oh wait, I'm getting something ...



BUTLER: And yes, you're right, it's only 60-some days away ...



COSTELLO: I'm sorry I was just getting some ...



BUTLER: ... but I believe ...



COSTELLO: ... some ...



BUTLER: ... I believe that ...



COSTELLO: I'm sorry, Sir, can you repeat what you said, I didn't hear you, my IFB (ph) temporarily went out.



BUTLER: Yes. I said you're correct, it's only 60 days away. But I believe that Mr. Trump is a smart man. And I know for a fact that the people around him are smart people. And I believe -- and this is just my personal belief -- that at the end of the day, he -- his advisors and him will make the right, and sound decisions that will benefit both the United States and our allies.



COSTELLO: So -- and I do hear you, Sir. I just want to, I want, I



just want to clarify. So if Donald Trump doesn't say certain things that you agree with, right -- that are good for our country and are good for our military forces -- if he doesn't change his tune will you then drop your support? Or is it just unqualified support?



BUTLER: No, ma'am, no, no, no. I would be a fool to give anyone my unqualified support. I am listening to what he says, I am listening and watching his actions. And right now, today, which is the third of September, I'm supporting him. But that's not saying that he might do something totally out of control, then on the fifth I would do as so many other people and say, "I can't support that."



I am not a robot, I will not just fall in behind and march lockstep. I have a brain, a very good brain I might add, and I will think through my decisions very, very carefully.



COSTELLO: All right, Brigadier General ...



BUTLER: It was a big decision point to come on CNN and do this. Especially as a ...



COSTELLO: And I do appreciate your being here.



BUTLER: Especially as a black man.



COSTELLO: Why is that?



BUTLER: Well you know a lot of black people don't support Donald Trump. For their own reasons. And I don't think that the Republican Party has done him any favors by helping him with his outreach to the minority communities. You know, most minorities, we want the same thing that everybody else wants.



The media -- and I'm not bashing the media, I would never bash the media -- but you've heard this. The media sets the tone. If you watch the media and you watch TV, you would think that all black people are on welfare, we live in the ghetto, we get -- we're so afraid of getting shot, and we wear our hair in dreadlocks.



As you can see I don't wear my hair in dreadlocks because I don't have hair. Two, I speak fairly well, people can understand me. Three, I don't live in a black neighborhood so I'm not really worried about going out, getting shot. Most of my friends are like me. We are, as Reagan said, the silent majority.



There is a silent majority of black people -- and you notice I don't use the term African American -- of black people out there. And I believe that a lot of those people want the same things that Donald Trump wants. But you have to show those people, me included, that you really want what I want and you will help me achieve what I want. Don't take us for granted.



And like I said, the [Democratic] Party, for so long has taken black and Latinos for granted. They just don't even campaign ...



COSTELLO: So is Mr. Trump in his outreach to the black community, doing it right?



BUTLER: That's a good question. Is he doing it right? No, I don't think so. I don't agree with just going to some churches. You have to get involved. And the people around you -- remember again, I spoke about the people around you, your advisors -- his advisors are going to have to show him the way and help him get involved. And help him to put out a line, a storyline, that can be accepted by them. And more than anything, is honest, and he means to fulfill. That is what will get their attention ...



COSTELLO: But see, here the -- here's what I am really ...



BUTLER: ... and their votes.



COSTELLO: ... here's what I'm really struggling with. You say you don't agree with what Donald Trump has said about his plans for our military. And you're listening very closely. And you don't give him your unqualified support. And then you say that Donald Trump's outreach to the black community isn't quite right. So why are you supporting Donald Trump?



BUTLER: Well, first off, I said I don't agree with some of the things he's said referencing the military, not all. Some of the things. And I'm sure that your friends don't agree with everything you say. Number two, yes I said he has not done it correctly, the outreach. But I think they are working in the right direction.



And again, I'm here because some of his people on his campaign reached out to me. So yes, you're not doing it perfectly, but you're getting there. You know, it's like a child walking. The child doesn't walk, the child stands up and it takes baby steps. And the parents hold the child up. And the child eventually learns to walk on his own, and then he learns to run. We're taking baby steps right now. And I hope that I can help his party walk and then run.



COSTELLO: All right Brigadier General Remo Butler, thank you so much for being with me this morning. I'll be right back.