Tag: Helsinki Summit

Meet the Republicans who want ‘Tax Reform 2.0’ as Russia controversy rages on

The following article by Tana Ganeva was posted on the RawStory.com website July 17, 2018:

President Trump and Russia’s President Putin shake hands in Helsinki, Finland July 16, 2018. Credit: Kevin Lamarque, Reuters

On Tuesday, as the controversy continued to rage over President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, some Republicans are going back to business as usual: pushing forth tax reforms most likely to benefit corporate interests and the wealthy.

According to the White House pool report, President Trump is slated to meet with Republican members of Congress today to discuss “tax reform 2.0.”

The President plans to meet with the following congresspeople, many of whom, like Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), have previously issued soft critiques of the President on issues like trade policy but nevertheless signal their support for most of Donald Trump’s agenda:

Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX)
Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI)
Rep. Diane Black (R-TN)
Rep. George Holding (R-NC)
Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH)
Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL)
Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN)

View the complete article on the RawStory.com website here.

Even Fox News hosts were aghast after Trump’s summit with Putin

The following article by Alex Horton was posted on the Washington Post website July 17, 2018:

After President Trump cast doubt on U.S. intelligence findings on Russia’s election meddling, network news anchors were flabbergasted, outraged and disgusted. (Jenny Starrs /The Washington Post)

President Trump’s performance at Monday’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin was “disgusting” and “wrong,” Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto said.

Trump’s acceptance of Putin’s denials of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election was “lame,” Fox News anchor Brit Hume said.

Trump “threw the United States under the bus” in Helsinki, Fox News reporter John Roberts said.

View the complete article on the Washington Post website here.

In battle for nonverbal dominance at U.S.-Russia summit, Putin was the clear winner, experts say

The following article by William Wan was posted on the Washington Post website July 17, 2018:

At their summit in Helsinki on July 16, President Trump appeared to wink at Russian President Vladimir Putin at least twice. (Jenny Starrs /The Washington Post)

Carrie Keating was almost slack-jawed with amazement by the end of President Trump’s news conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin Monday. Keating has studied the nonverbal gestures of politicians for three decades, but she found the performance between the two men on the stage nothing short of incredible.

“Whoever made the arrangements, they so clearly favored Putin. You saw him do almost every dominant behavior you could stage in social science lab study,” said Keating, a psychology professor who studies charisma and leadership at Colgate University.

Keating quickly ticked off more than a dozen nonverbal assertions of dominance by Putin — including Putin’s agile hop onto the podium (vs. Trump’s lumbering walk), Putin’s animated gestures and the way he often disregarded the audience when speaking.

View the complete article on the Washington Post website here.

Trump’s Treachery Makes Republicans ‘Sad’ When They Should Be Mad

The following article by Joe Conason was posted on the National Memo website July 16, 2018:

Credit: Yuri Kadobnova, AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump’s performance in Helsinki on Monday morning was certainly historic. On no other occasion since the founding of this country has an American president publicly demonstrated that he is a witting agent of a hostile foreign power — even as that country’s authoritarian ruler smirked beside him.

Standing at the podium with Vladimir Putin, Trump brazenly endorsed the Russian president’s denial of Kremlin interference in the 2016 presidential election. Only three days after his own appointees in the Justice Department announced charges against a dozen Russian agents, ratifying the long-held conclusions of US agencies, he told the assembled world media that he considered Putin’s word as good as  the counsel of his own intelligence chiefs.

He did nothing but genuflect to Putin during their joint press conference, meekly saying that he credited the Russian’s “strong and powerful denial” of interfering in the US election and that he “didn’t see any reason why they would.” Of course he personifies that reason, having spent the past year doing Kremlin dirty work against NATO, the European Union, and American institutions. He even praised Putin’s absurd “offer” to let the Russians investigate their own crimes against the United States.

View the complete article on the National Memo website here.

The facts missing from Trump and Putin’s news conference

The following article by Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly was posted on the Washington Post website July 16, 2018:

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin echoed each other and reiterated falsehoods in a news conference following their meeting on July 16. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia made a series of questionable claims at a news conference following their summit meeting in Helsinki on July 16.

Trump was asked whether he believed the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the presidential election in 2016, or whether he believed Putin’s denials. Remarkably, Trump said he had “confidence in both parties.”

This prompted a statement from Daniel Coats, the president’s director of national intelligence. “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy,” Coats said.

View the complete post on the Washington Post website here.

8 Suspect Claims From the Trump-Putin News Conference

The following article by Linda Qiu was posted on the New York Times website July 16, 2018:

“My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others, they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.” — Donald Trump

This is disputed.

Those who accused Russia of seeking to influence the 2016 election include the United States intelligence community, Democratic lawmakers and most Republican lawmakers, technology companies like Google and Facebook, and even top members of Mr. Trump’s administration.

Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, indicted 13 Russians and three companies in February, accusing them of posing as American activists and manipulating the election. On Friday, he charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

View the complete article on the New York Times website here.

Five takeaways from Trump’s jaw-dropping performance with Putin

The following article by Niall Stanage was posted on the Hill website July 16, 2018:

President Trump’s keenly anticipated summit on Monday in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin surpassed all expectations on newsworthiness.

Here are the main takeaways.

A jaw-dropper, even by Trump’s standards

Trump’s news conference with Putin was extraordinary, even by the standards of a president who has embraced chaos and controversy like no recent predecessor.

View the complete article on the Hill website here.

Trump’s extraordinary press conference was not normal

The following article was posted on the Axios website July 16, 2018:

Credit: Yuri Kadobnova, AFP/Getty Images

President Trump today, at a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he didn’t see “any reason” why Russia would interfere in the 2016 election, in response to a question on whether he believed Putin or U.S. intelligence agencies.

Our thought bubble from Jonathan Swan in Helsinki: “I just have no words. As press in this room, we are all sitting in here speechless and stunned. Trump cast doubt over the U.S. intelligence community and endorsed Putin’s denial. Trump was given an opportunity to denounce the meddling and he didn’t; he just pivoted to lines about the missing server and Hillary’s emails. While Putin spoke forcefully, lying, Trump nodded along. There’s no way of sugar coating or spinning this.”

Why it matters: This comes just days after Trump’s own administration indicted 12 Russians for hacking the DNC with the intent of interfering with the election. The U.S. intelligence community has repeatedly concluded that Russia actively sought to interfere in the election, and plans to again.

View the complete article on the Axios website here.

DNC on Trump Siding with Putin Over the U.S.

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after President Trump held a press conference in Helsinki, Finland with Russian President Vladimir Putin:

“Donald Trump made clear that his loyalties lie with a foreign adversary who attacked our country rather than with U.S. intelligence agencies and the American people.

“Today’s press conference was a shameful display of cowardice and capitulation. Just days after 12 high-ranking Russian intelligence officers were indicted for their attack on American democracy, Donald Trump stood next to Vladimir Putin and refused to call on Russia not to attack us again. He took Putin’s side over his own government’s. And instead of denouncing Russia’s attack on our democracy, he went after American institutions. Never before has a U.S. president failed so spectacularly to stand up to a hostile foreign power. Continue reading “DNC on Trump Siding with Putin Over the U.S.”