Donald Trump's presidency attracts all round criticism

Donald Trump's slogan "America First" was changed to "Me first" as the President unloaded his own intelligence community and Justice Department to portray himself as a victim of conspiracy to deny him his legitimacy. Trump also blamed US "stupidity and stupidity" for the bad state of relations between the United States and Russia, returning to the themes he has repeated at political rallies around the United States.

This time, however, he was abroad, alongside Vladimir Putin, the man whose government is accused of interfering in the 2016 election to favor Trump. . As such, his extraordinary performance Monday fueled critics of his presidency from both the right and the left. And that would probably embolden Putin, who has faced no refusal from Trump about election allegations or a long list of other Kremlin actions, ranging from Syria to Syria. # 39; Ukraine.

Indeed, critics and even some generally reliable advocates have been quick to pounce.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Called it "one of the most shameful representations by an American president in memory.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., A cautious supporter of Trump, said, "The president must understand that Russia is not our ally." And the representative Trey Gowdy, RS .C., Who has been critical of Russia, said that "Russia is not our friend" and expressed hope that Trump 's national security aides could convince him that. it is possible to conclude that Russia interfered with our elections in 2016 without delegitimizing its electoral success.

But after his two-hour meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Trump questioned the US intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the elections, and he dismissed the investigation of Special Adviser Robert Mueller on the interference, suggesting that there is no reason to doubt Putin's denials of maleficence.

“ I have great confidence in my intelligence, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today, '' he said. he declared.

The current and former Trump White House and campaigners describe the president as obsessed with any suggestion that his elevation to the White House came about anything other than the product of his own work hard. They say that the former star of reality and relentless tabloid self-promotion believes that any suggestion of Russian interference undermines his victory and his mark.

It is for this reason that since the 2016 campaign, Trump has strongly rejected any suggestion of Russian support for his candidacy. After his electoral victory, which even surprised Trump, the president reluctantly acknowledged the Russian interference in the election – the unanimous consensus of the intelligence community – while suggesting that other countries might to be responsible

Months later, Trump says that he fired FBI director James Comey because of the persistent investigation into Russian interference and possible collusion with elements of the Trump's campaign. And Trump continues to reject Mueller's probe as a "witch hunt," despite indictments by Russian hackers and intelligence officials.

On Monday, Trump also resurrected several conspiracy theories demystified about his opponent Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, called an FBI agent involved in the investigation of interference by his name and s & # 39; 39 is complained about the media coverage.

Meanwhile, Trump hailed his electoral success and denied any complicity with Russia, which Putin was happy to accept, although the Russian leader admitted a preference for Trump, who campaigned for better links with Moscow.

“ We have been running a brilliant campaign, and that's why I'm president, '' said Trump at one point.

“ It was a clean campaign, I beat Hillary Clinton easily, & &; [[[[[, he said to another. "It's a pity that there may even be some cloud."

Trump called the summit a triumph of diplomacy, claiming that he was politically minded in accepting the meeting with Putin and rescuing those who expressed concern about his timing and what he said. who could have been on the table.

Yet despite vague wishes for better future ties and new cooperation in Syria and on nuclear non-proliferation, neither Trump nor Putin were able to offer details on the progress or specific improvements in relationships. after their long awaited summit.

The only tangible sign of progress was Putin's gift of a World Cup football to Trump. The only points of disagreement arose when Putin accused Trump of having withdrawn from the Iranian nuclear deal and that the Russian leader, and not Trump himself, explained the US position. on the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

"He continued to argue that it was illegal to annex it," Putin said of Trump's stance.

Putin, for his part, played the role of a statesman, serving as a kind of master of ceremonies and parrying the questions of the press by showing disbelief at the allegations of Interference, before making an astonishing offer of "deal" with the President. His proposal to exchange access to Russians accused of hacking against Russian investigators engaged in investigations of Kremlin critics was "an incredible offer," according to Trump.

The opening of Trump at the symbolic bid seemed to give way to Putin. For Russian hawks, even the review of the proposal underscored the success of Putin's efforts to undermine the foundations of American democracy.

After all, it was the ultimate goal of Russian electoral interference, US officials said.

Putin seemed to poke the sensitive subject when he answered a question about the interference by asking, "Do you believe that the United States is a democracy?