Tag: Vladimir Putin

Trump’s defense of Russia prompts outrage from some Republicans

The following article by Felicia Sonmez and Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website July 16, 2018:

Both President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about Russian interference in U.S. elections at a news conference on July 16 in Helsinki. (The Washington Post)

Republicans rallied Monday to defend the U.S. intelligence community after President Trump placed more credibility in Russian President Vladi­mir Putin’s pronouncements than the work of U.S. spy agencies.

Wary of challenging the top Republican, however, many stopped short of criticizing Trump himself or advocating concrete action against Russia for its interference in the 2016 presidential election.

At a joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki, which took place after the first formal one-on-one summit between the two leaders, Trump refused to back the conclusion of U.S. intelligence of Russian interference and attacked the probe being led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III as “a disaster for our country.”

View the complete article on the Washington Post website here.

Trump refuses to denounce Russian involvement in election at joint presser with Putin

The following article by Jordan Fabian was posted on the Hill website July 16, 2018:

President Trump on Monday refused to denounce Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and criticized the special counsel investigation — all while standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference following their meeting in Helsinki, Finland.

In an extraordinary scene broadcast live to a worldwide audience, Trump sided with Russia over his own intelligence agencies’ conclusion about Russia’s meddling in the election.

“They said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia,” Trump said.

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.

Trump’s extremely defensive interview about Russia and Putin

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website July 16, 2018:

In an interview with CBS News, Trump said, “Well, I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade.” (Reuters)

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation just indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers for interfering in the 2016 election. It seems to have changed nothing for President Trump.

About the most innocent explanation you can offer for Trump’s muted attitude toward Russia’s and Vladimir Putin’s 2016 actions is that he doesn’t like to talk about it— that he feels the whole thing undermines his legitimacy as president. And a new interview with CBS News shows better than just about anything how defensive he is about the whole thing.

CBS released four questions and answers Sunday from Trump’s interview with anchor Jeff Glor. The big news is that he suggested the European Union is a “foe” and that he says he doesn’t expect much from his meeting Monday with Putin.

View the complete post on the Washington Post website here.

Trump meets Putin after blaming US for bad relations

The following article by Jordan Fabian and Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website July 16, 2018:

President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 Summit in Hamburg in 2017. Credit: Evan Vucci, AP

President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than two hours in a one-on-one setting Monday in Helsinki, Finland, hours after blaming the United States for the bad relationship between the two countries.

As the two sat down in front of photographers before heading into their meeting, Trump said he and Putin would discuss trade, arms control and China, but made no mention of hot-button issues that have created tensions between the U.S. and Russia, such as Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, Syria, Ukraine and nerve-agent attacks in the United Kingdom.

“I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship,” Trump said. “I really think the world wants to see us get along.”

View the complete article on the Hill website here.

Trump hands Putin a diplomatic triumph by casting doubt on U.S. intelligence agencies

The following article by Philip Rucker, Anton Troianoski and Seung Min Kim was posted on the Washington Post website July 16, 2018:

Both President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about Russian interference in U.S. elections at a news conference on July 16 in Helsinki. (The Washington Post)

HELSINKI — President Trump handed Russian President Vladimir Putin an unalloyed diplomatic triumph during their summit here Monday as he refused to support the collective conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Trump’s warm rhetorical embrace of Putin, who he said had given him an “extremely strong and powerful” denial that Russia assaulted U.S. democracy, marked an extraordinary capstone to the first formal meeting between the current leaders of the world’s nuclear superpowers and sparked trepidation and horror among many in Washington and around the globe.

At a remarkable 46-minute joint news conference inside the Finnish presidential palace, Trump would not challenge Putin’s claim that the Russian government played no role in trying to sabotage the U.S. election, despite the Justice Department’s indictments Friday of 12 Russian intelligence officers accused of hacking Democratic emails as part of a broad subterfuge operation to help Trump win the election.

View the complete post on the Washington Post website here.

‘Maybe he’ll be a friend’: Trump highlights common ground with Putin ahead of summit

The following article by Anton Troianovski and Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website July 15, 2018:

President Trump landed in Helsinki on July 15 ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)

HELSINKI — He allegedly helped him get elected. He has charmed him and egged him on. And on Monday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin meets President Trump face to face here in Finland’s capital, he will see what he gets out of it.

Coming into Monday’s one-on-one summit, Trump faces intense pressure back home to confront Putin over Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, especially in the wake of Friday’s indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking and releasing Democratic Party emails.

In Washington and throughout the West, leaders are also pressing Trump to hold firm in counter­ing Putin’s intervention in Syria and Ukraine by refusing to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

View the complete post on the Washington Post website here.

Trump Sets Notably Low Bar for Putin Summit

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website July 15, 2018:

President also calls European Union a ‘foe’ on trade matters

President Donald Trump waves while playing a round of golf on Sunday at Trump Turnberry Luxury Collection Resort in Turnberry, Scotland, during his first official visit to the United Kingdom. Credit: Leon Neal, Getty Images

Updated 10:43 a.m. | President Donald Trump has a message for his critics about his upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin: Don’t worry, it’ll be fine — just trust me. And, in a stunning remark, he called the European Union a “foe” of the United States on trade matters.

Trump continues to set low expectations for Monday’s summit with Putin amid concerns he could give into the Russian leader’s demands while getting little — if anything — in return.

Intentionally or not, Trump’s remarks amount to an admission Putin will come to Helsinki with a hard line on issues ranging from Ukraine to Syria to his government’s campaign to upend the last U.S. presidential election.

View the complete article on the Roll Call website here.

As the World Cup winds down and the summit nears, Trump is playing Putin’s game

The following article by Cynthia Hooper, Associate Professor of History, College of the Holy Cross, was posted on the Conversation.com website July 13, 2018:

President Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images)

It seems incredible that White House aides would schedule the first U.S.-Russia summit of the Donald Trump Presidency for the day after the World Cup final soccer match in Moscow, given the assiduous attention to detail that has, historically, governed every meeting between the two superpowers.

One-nil, Vladimir Putin. And the game hasn’t even begun.

Amid constant pop culture chatter of an illicit Putin-Trump “bromance,” coupled with an FBI investigation into possible collusion between Russian operatives and members of the Trump 2016 Presidential campaign, the timing of the event appears to be just another sign Trump’s people don’t care if they make Putin look good. Or they don’t understand the various ways they do.

View the original article on the Conversation.com website here.

In a deeply revealing news conference, Trump tips his hand on his thinking about Putin

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website July 12, 2018:

As he left the White House on Tuesday, on his way to meetings with foreign leaders in Europe, President Trump made an odd assertion.

Those at his first stop, the member nations of NATO, have “not treated us fairly” because “we pay far too much and they pay far too little,” he said. As for Britain, where he headed on Thursday, “that’s a situation that’s been going on for a long time” and, following the resignations of senior officials on Monday, the country is “in somewhat turmoil.”

“And I have Putin,” Trump said, referring to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week. “Frankly, Putin may be the easiest of them all. Who would think? Who would think?”

View the article on the Washington Post website here.