Trump's Grudging Efforts Tuesday, February 14, 2009 at 9:00 pm
The Still Reverberating Shock and more about political discombobulation and recrimination, setting American and American weakening the structures of US and Western democracy.
In other words, exactly what Putin wants, and all he had to do was show up to a summit with Trump to give a drama that is having a deeply corrosive effect on his old enemy, the United States, a new lease on life
Putin's word – not that of America's spies – over the issue of election int erference.
But the effort may be made when it comes to making a statement in the White House, an appearance that seems to be more important than that of the Russians may have on the US President.
On Capitol Hill, the recurring Trump nightmare that afflicts Republicans reappeared as GOP leaders signaled their disgust at the president's behavior, felt their own message to putin and reassured US allies traumatized by the NATO-skeptic president. 19659002] But the truth is that it is more important than not, but that it does not help to keep it up to date. Democrats, as usual, raged loudly but impotently at Trump's behavior, though they will hope for the president in the elections.
Trump fails to satisfy critics – again
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Looking at stern, and reading from the prepared text – To which the words "No collusion" had been added, black ink – Trump unspooled an improbable excuse for one of the most troublesome comments Monday in Helsinki – – "I do not see any reason why it would be" that was responsible for interfering in the US election.
Trump said that he had gotten home from Helsinki, watched television and read the transcript of the news conference,
"It should have been obvious – I thought it would be obvious – but I would like to clarify it," Trump told reporters.
"The sentence should have been: 'I do not see any reason why it would not be Russia.' … So you can do that, and I think it's probably pretty good by itself. "
Except it did not. The credibility of Trump's do-it-all-it-all-it-has-it-all-it-all-bad-after-you-have-it-you-can-do-it-you-can-it-all-it-all-you-can-it-to-you-do-it-you-know-it-all-it-all-it-all-it-all-it-all-it-all-it-all-it-all-it? The President could at any time have cleaned up his comment up more quickly. And if the new phrase is inserted in Trump's remarks and it is not reflect what he was trying to convey.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny reported that the impetus for Trump's statement that he had misspoken in Finland from the President himself. Trump caved spectacularly to Putin, Trump caved spectacularly to Putin, who was a member of the intelligence community, possibly Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, might resign. Here's what could happen next ” data-src-mini=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180716214854-pba-trump-putin-small-169.jpg” data-src-xsmall=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180716214854-pba-trump-putin-medium-plus-169.jpg” data-src-small=”http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180716214854-pba-trump-putin-large-169.jpg” data-src-medium=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180716214854-pba-trump-putin-exlarge-169.jpg” data-src-large=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180716214854-pba-trump-putin-super-169.jpg” data-src-full16x9=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180716214854-pba-trump-putin-full-169.jpg” data-src-mini1x1=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180716214854-pba-trump-putin-small-11.jpg” data-demand-load=”not-loaded” data-eq-pts=”mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781″ src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP///////wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI+py+0Po5yUFQA7″/>
Trump also appeared to undercut his own message when he said that while he had been hacked the election, others could have been involved too: "There's a lot of people out there."
The problem here is that the President, far from throwing his weight behind the intelligence community's findings that Russia intervened in the 2016 election, is yet again casting doubt on the authenticity of the assessment. Just did he did in Helsinki.
It is not the first case of Trump trying to clear a self-created political disaster but digging in deeper. Many commentators have commented on the similarities between this episode and the time when the President equivocated on blaming neo-Nazis and white supremacists for violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Scott Jennings, who was a special assistant to President George W. Bush , said Trump's insistence on offering caveats to his statement defeated the purpose.
"It would have been better to have done anything today, if you were going to throw that sentence," Jennings said on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper, "describing the Helsinki as a serious mistake and the low point of Trump's presidency."
"Then you try to walk it back, and then the walk-back gets muddled because you just do not get that right ,. "
It was the President's failure and it was one thing to protect the US electoral system and the intelligence community" full faith and support, "as Trump did, safe in the White House. to do so standing next to Putin – a US adversary who those same intelligence agencies accuse of interfering in the 2016 election to put him in office – that caused this controversy. His unwillingness to do so in Helsinki is why criticism in Washington saw him as weak – an adjective that is always damaging to a President, especially when it is manifested during an overseas appearance.
Republicans show (a little)
One of the most striking aspects of the fallowship of the Republic of the United States on Capitol Hill to at least implicitly criticize the Trump
The Trump most important Republican in Washington other than the President – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in his understated, courtly way – made his disapproval of Trump's dismal appearance alongside Putin and his criticism of America's Western allies quite clear.
The Kentucky Republican spoke to America's allies in the way a normal President might, following Trump's insult-a-thon through Europe before he puts Putin.
"Let me just say to our European friends, we value the NATO treat there; it's been the most significant military alliance in world history. We believe the European Union is our friends, and the Russians are not. "
" I think the Russians need to know that there is a lot in 2016, and it really better not happen again in 2018, "McConnell said.
Given that Congress forced the election of the President of the United States. choice of a veto-proof majorities – McConnell was making a no-nonsense threat
Yet were Republican lawmakers really intent on reining in the President they could do so much more Trump and Putin: They could pass resolutions – even though they would be able to make their Trump 's assumption of Trump' s. sanctions on Russia, in a way that could hamper his hopes to engage Putin further. None of that is yet on a fast track.
And the difficulty in building House and Senate majorities behind such steps underscores the political calculation that many Republicans are making.
GOP elections become more important, and may be more important than Trump escapes the Helsinki debacle without political damage – at least with his own side.
