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The American reaction to President Trump's press conference in Helsinki was unusual in his unanimous . The appearance of Trump alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital was "shameful" – as wrote Anderson Cooper of CNN – "disgusting" – as claimed Neil Cavuto of Fox News – and "nothing less than a traitor" as stated by John Brennn, former director of the CIA "Putin's warm embrace through a long conference of The press was an extraordinary cornerstone of their first formal summit on Monday, two presidents spent two hours talking by themselves, only joined by their interpreters, "reported my colleagues from Helsinki.The details of this two-hour discussion Have not yet fully emerged, but the bail itself will go down in the annals of American diplomatic history.
Trump appeared to side with the Kremlin on the intelligence community of his own country, accepting Putin: "Strong and powerful negation" of Russian interference in the 2016 election campaign. He also described the Special Advisor's investigation as "ridiculous" and "disaster for our country" just days after the publication of an indictment of 12 officials of the Russian military intelligence services. These officials were accused of hacking and stealing e-mails belonging to the Democratic National Committee as part of a wider operation which, as my colleagues reported, was commissioned directly by Putin for help Trump win the job
Trump, of course, likes no suggestion that his 2016 victory was tarnished by outside efforts. In Helsinki, even though Putin admitted that he had wanted Trump to win the elections, Trump parroted right-wing conspiracy theories about the democrats perpetrating the hacks. But Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence, issued a blunt statement that seemed to refute Trump's equivocation. "We have been clear in our assessments of the Russian interference in the 2016 elections and their ongoing and pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy," reads another article.
Other American politicians were far more scathing. "Today's news conference marks a recent low point in the history of the US presidency," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), An outspoken critic of Putin who qualified the top of the error. "No previous president has ever lowered himself abject before a tyrant."
This seemed an almost appropriate end to Trump's tumultuous tour across Europe . The president made acrimonious stops in Brussels and Britain, where he renewed his attacks on various pillars of the transatlantic alliance and undermined the British prime minister in a pair of controversial interviews with the London tabloids of right. Referring to the chaos left by Trump, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday that Europe "can no longer count on the White House" and had to resolve its own divisions – divisions that Trump, a right-wing populist champion Last week, Trump called the European Union "enemy" – a stark contrast to his comment in Helsinki that Putin is a "good competitor", a note that he pointed out as being "a compliment". "
Such a cautious stance, combined with Trump's refusal to publicly support his own government's consensus on Russian interference, constituted" treason, "according to the Washington Post's editorial board. to acknowledge the clear facts about Russia's behavior, while destroying the judicial system of his own country, Mr. Trump openly stuck with the criminal head of a hostile power, "concluded the editorial of the Post
to compare anything to a US President doubting the word of his own intelligence agencies while he stood beside the leader of America's main geopolitical adversary, "writes Edward Luce of the Financial Times. "The future of the Western alliance is now in severe doubt – Trump is assured of that."
Putin, meanwhile, probably had exactly what he wanted . Moscow officials welcome Trump's allegedly "pragmatic" approach, which kills universal values or makes fun of human rights or the rule of law. "For Putin and other Russians who have long rejected discussions on democratic values and human rights as a façade to promote American power, Trump's disinterest in such a speech seemed refreshing – and beneficial" , wrote my colleague Anton Troianovski. "Putin's allies have praised Trump's" pragmatism "over the predecessors as President Barack Obama, who often spoke of the need for countries like Ukraine to evolve into democratic societies. "
Komsomolskaya Pravda congratulated the US leader for hiring Putin, no matter "the opposition of his own elite and hysterical media." Contrary to the outrage of news channels Americans, the reaction of the Russian media to the summit has been calmer. careful. This moment only marks the beginning of a potential thaw in a frozen relationship. And although Trump is well disposed to Putin, he believes that his administration continues to defend Russia.
"The television networks, websites and newspapers largely favorable to the Kremlin have portrayed Trump as a political maverick." In 1965, the Helsinki meeting allowed Vladimir Putin to run for office. equal footing with the leader of the world's only superpower and to be a platform to discuss his views on the main global challenges on his own terms. "It's the summit that Putin has been waiting forever, "said Alina Polyakova, of the Brookings Institution, during a conference call with reporters after the Helsinki press officer." It has completely set the agenda. "
The irony is that Putin needed the summit more than Trump, and yet he left more comfortable and more comfortable. "The Russian president is under pressure at the house right now. Despite easy re-election in March, its popularity has declined, "writes Elena Chernenko, a foreign editor at Kommersant, an independent Russian newspaper. "He has even faced protests against his government's pension reform plan, but one of the ways Putin knows how to attract the Russians is to look tough and control the world." Mr. Trump made it easy for him. "
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