[There was a video here]

Responding quickly to BuzzFeed’s newly uncovered interview in which Donald Trump advocates for invading Iraq, Anderson Cooper asked the man himself if he remembered answering in the affirmative. In response, Trump comes as close to breaking character as we’ve seen him yet. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

So, does Trump remember it? “No, but I mean, I—I could have said that. Nobody asked me... I wasn’t a politician. It was probably the first time anybody asked me that question.... But by the time the war started, I was against the war,” Trump answered, clearly flustered by the question.

So basically what Trump is saying is that A) he hadn’t thought about it much so his immediate impulse was to go to war (good to know!), B) it only matters that he was against the war when it started, and C) since he wasn’t a politician at the time that somehow makes his current claims about his non-politician era impervious to fact (or something?). And that’s just the first thirty seconds.

Trump spends the next minute or so of his answer speaking remarkably quickly for someone who isn’t actually saying anything at all. Trump is unprepared, frantic, and grasping at (more) straws (than usual). All of which is to say, it is immensely satisfying to watch.

Please, enjoy.

Contact the author at ashley@gawker.com.