Mueller Report: Trump tries to turn discoveries into weapons

Instead, Trump seems ready to relive the first two years of his presidency and the investigation into the "witch hunt" that has darkened it, this time through the prism of justification. personal and political. His public comments since his attorney general summed up the report for Congress Sunday all bore the threat of a setback – for Democrats who accused him of stealing his office and the media that he said were stirring up the flames – and offered a glimpse of his speech. on the 2020 Campaign Trail.

"A lot of people have done very, very bad things, very bad things, I would say betrayal of our country," Trump, a furious man, told the oval office on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu. "We have gone through a period of very bad things, and these people will certainly be examined."

Nothing indicates so far that Trump plans to order the counter-investigation that he launched, but while he prepares to wage a tough battle to be reelected, the president and his campaign advisers see the report's findings as a political gold, even if that means that the lingering questions of interference in the elections in Russia and wrongdoing in political blood will remain unresolved for years.

As Trump embarked on a successful tour in the months following the 2016 election, reliving the biggest hits and attacking those who said he could never win, his next rallies would probably be like victory centered on the Mueller probe – an extend until November, 2020.

The result will likely be a reinforcement of the President's harsh criticism of Democrats and the media, lines of attack that have always been an effective way to strengthen his political base.

A Trump advisor who talks to the president has regularly told CNN's Jim Acosta to expect Trump and his team to "blame the media" for Mueller's findings in the Russia investigation.

Even though the president on Sunday dismissed the investigation as "illegal dismantling that failed," sources close to the president said that they expect it to be there. focuses less on Mueller and more on the exonerating findings of the investigation and on the badault of Democrats and the media.

Hit the path

The first presentation of this post-Mueller message will take place Thursday, when the president will gather his supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"I think it will probably look like Trump's second most thrilling event, after the election victory of 2016," said Jason Miller, one of Trump's leading 2016 communications advisers. "It's a cloud hovering over the presidency during its first two years.Now this cloud has been lifted – not just, but in terms as complete and compelling."

Those around the president are waiting for him to turn the findings of the Mueller case investigation – at least those revealed in Attorney General Bill Barr's letter – into a club. the policy that he will use to intensify his rhetoric by attacking Democrats and the media to new heights, by equating speculation and speculation about the investigation with news stories about the investigation that did not predict the Issue that way.

The president's campaign has already begun producing a series of fundraising emails focused on the survey. And on Monday, the campaign's communications director sent an e-mail to news producers suggesting that several Democratic lawmakers and a former director of the CIA would no longer be considered credible guests given their allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

It is unlikely that this message will diminish and eventually prove to be a central element of Trump's message for 2020, as were his allegations of wrongdoing made by Hillary Clinton in 2016.

"The fact that the entire Democratic Party through the megaphone of the national media has spent every waking moment of the past two years screaming about Russian collusion is an absolute problem," said Tim Murtaugh, director of the Trump campaign communication, about the 2020 campaign. "We've been hearing these accusations for two years now, and I think maybe you could say a little bit more about the fact that it's all wrong."

Rhetoric, however, will not be enough for some of the president's supporters, who want him to go beyond rhetoric and take action by raising the specter of counter-investigation.

"I think we need to investigate the investigators," said David Bossie, former deputy campaign manager for the president and informal adviser. "I think it's necessary to have an accountancy.People must be held accountable for what they've done to our country over the past two years.I'm not ready to go Beyond that, I think it's a very important element of need to do. "

"How does he ruin this?

But other allies of the president are already starting to be cautious. Many fear privately that, despite the fact that this report is good news for Trump, who could strengthen him before the last 22 months of his term, he will find a way to curb positive coverage.

A former partner joked on Sunday after Barr published Mueller's key findings: "Now, how does he ruin this?"

These Trump supporters hope that the president will go forward and focus on his achievements and on economic growth that could be a central demand for a second term.

"I now hope that we went beyond this investigation and that he is not personally accused of colluding with a hostile alien power, which, I think, is evident there was no collusion, and that at some point we must accept it and move on. " ", said Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida freshman, on CNN." I hope the tone and rhetoric will change. "

Inside the White House, while feelings of exaltation over Mueller's findings softened, some councilors expressed a personal desire that Trump attempt a more traditional, focused presidency. 39, developing sober policies rather than chaotic attempts to change narrative.

This involves focusing on the conclusion of a trade deal with China – a result that Trump wants to achieve, believing that this could boost the stock market and, in turn, its political outlook. The aid also envisages a delayed infrastructure push and measures to lower the price of medicines, two areas considered ripe for bipartite cooperation. He is also expected to take several trips abroad this spring.

But Democrats have clearly announced their intention to continue their investigations on the Trump administration and nothing indicates that Trump will adopt a more politicized stance. His behavior in recent weeks has not demonstrated the president's willingness to restore order in his agenda.

Last week, he was dominated by his attacks on the late Senator John McCain, a quarrel that sparked widespread condemnation and distracted from his plans for a resumption of manufacturing in the center of the country.

At the end of the week, the foreign policy apparatus of the administration appeared in disarray when Trump tweeted sharply that he was canceling new sanctions against Korea. North. It took the officials hours to clarify what Trump was talking about, which turned out to be unannounced measures in the Treasury Department's work.

Victory tower

In the future, it is not certain that Trump will stick to a single messaging strategy, especially as Democrats continue to struggle to gain access to the full report of Mueller and they're conducting their own investigations in Congress.

In the middle of his victory round, Trump is expected to welcome more than a dozen Congressional Republicans to the White House on Tuesday afternoon for a meeting on the trade deal between the United States, Mexico and the United States. Canada. Its contributors to the pact describe its highest legislative priority before the summer. .

Although some White House officials have said trade deals with China and the country 's North American neighbors would be among the most important items on Trump' s agenda in the coming weeks, the president has said that 39; showed that few signs of an imminent pivot.

In the discussion points sent to substitutes on Sunday night, the White House mentioned the pbadage of Trump's reworked agreement with Canada and Mexico as an immediate area of ​​action as a result of Mueller's report.

"Now that the investigation is over, it's time to move forward, overtake USMCA, build new infrastructure and bring down the price of drugs," wrote the White House. in the discussion points.

But even the relatively quiet business area could give rise to controversy at Capitol Hill.

A White House official said his team was also prepared for the possibility that the Democrats would unite against the deal to deprive Trump of political "victory". Democratic lawmakers could face even greater pressure not to cooperate with Trump while he is reprimanding them for supporting the Russia-led investigation.

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect the Attorney General Bill Barr's letter to Congress. Specifically, Barr cites the report of special advocate Robert Mueller that "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign had conspired or co-ordinated with the government. Russian in its activities of electoral interference ".