Tag: Vladimir Putin

Top Russian Official Tried to Broker ‘Backdoor’ Meeting Between Trump and Putin

The following article by Matt Apuzzo, Matthew Rosenberg and Adam Goldman was posted on the New York Times website November 17, 2017:

Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Russian central bank, at a round table in Moscow in September 2016. Credit Alexander Shalgin/TASS, via Getty Images

WASHINGTON — A senior Russian official who claimed to be acting at the behest of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia tried in May 2016 to arrange a meeting between Mr. Putin and Donald J. Trump, according to several people familiar with the matter.

The news of this reached the Trump campaign in a very circuitous way. An advocate for Christian causes emailed campaign aides saying that Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Russian central bank who has been linked both to Russia’s security services and organized crime, had proposed a meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump. The subject line of the email, turned over to Senate investigators, read, “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite,” according to one person who has seen the message. Continue reading “Top Russian Official Tried to Broker ‘Backdoor’ Meeting Between Trump and Putin”

Donald Trump’s Strange Bro-mances with Duterte and Putin

The following article by Jim Hightower was posted on the Creators.com website November 15, 2017:

“We’ve had a great relationship,” exulted a giddy Donald Trump, following his two-day schmoozefest in Manila with the thuggish president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte, a self-styled “toughie” who boasts of personally killing many people and who likes to compare himself to Satan, has been on a murderous rampage since his election last year. In the name of eliminating drugs, he has unleashed a massive military assault across the country, not merely targeting dealers, but also anyone using drugs. His onslaught against his own people is a human rights atrocity, with untold thousands essentially being executed in what are antiseptically termed “extrajudicial killings” — ie, illegal, unjustified… murderous. Continue reading “Donald Trump’s Strange Bro-mances with Duterte and Putin”

Six ways Trump’s Putin comments on Asia trip erode U.S. credibility

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website November 13, 2017:

President Trump on Nov. 11 said he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being truthful when he denies that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. (Reuters)

THE BIG IDEA: After a week of impressive message discipline across Asia, President Trump reopened a wound Saturday when he indicated that he believes Vladimir Putin’s denials that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential campaign.

“I asked him again,” Trump told reporters during a 26-minute gaggle on Air Force One, as he flew from Danang to Hanoi on the ninth day of his overseas trip. “You can only ask so many times. … He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they are saying he did. … I really believe that, when he tells me that, he means it. … I think he’s very insulted, if you want to know the truth.” Continue reading “Six ways Trump’s Putin comments on Asia trip erode U.S. credibility”

Former U.S. intelligence officials: Trump being ‘played’ by Putin

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website November 12, 2017:

© Getty Images

Two top former U.S. intelligence officials said Sunday that President Trump is being “played” by President Vladi­mir Putin on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and accused him of being susceptible to foreign leaders who stroke his ego.

“By not confronting the issue directly and not acknowledging to Putin that we know you’re responsible for this, I think he’s giving Putin a pass,” former CIA director John Brennan said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think it demonstrates to Mr. Putin that Donald Trump can be played by foreign leaders who are going to appeal to his ego and try to play upon his insecurities, which is very, very worrisome from a national security standpoint.”

Appearing on the same program, former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said he agrees with that assessment. Continue reading “Former U.S. intelligence officials: Trump being ‘played’ by Putin”

McCain: Nothing ‘America First’ about believing Putin on election meddling

The following article by Josh Delk was posted on the Hill website November 11, 2017:

© Getty Images

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Saturday that there is “nothing ‘America First’ ” about trusting the word of Russian President Vladimir Putin, following President Trump’s meeting with the leader and subsequent comments on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

“There’s nothing ‘America First’ about taking the word of a KGB colonel over that of the American intelligence community,” McCain said in a statement, after Trump said he believed Putin when he denied Russia sought to interfere in the election.  Continue reading “McCain: Nothing ‘America First’ about believing Putin on election meddling”

In Vietnam, Trump blasts critics on Russia as ‘haters and fools’ and appears to call North Korean leader ‘short and fat’

The following article by David Nakamura was posted on the Washington Post website November 12, 2017:

President Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin as they posed for a group photo ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Danang, Vietnam, on Friday. (AFP/ Vietnam News Agency /Getty Images)

HANOI — President Trump on Sunday appeared to ridicule North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as “short and fat,” and he lashed out at critics of his relationship with Russia’s leader, saying they are “haters and fools” who don’t understand the merits of a good relationship with Moscow.

The morning tweetstorm came as Trump prepared for bilateral meetings with Vietnamese leaders, including a scheduled news conference where he could face more questions about the topics he addressed on Twitter.

Trump’s taunt of Kim came after the North Korean leader again called him a “dotard,” a term describing an old person who is losing his mental faculties. Trump, 71, sarcastically responded that he hopes one day to be friends with Kim, who oversees a developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenal. Continue reading “In Vietnam, Trump blasts critics on Russia as ‘haters and fools’ and appears to call North Korean leader ‘short and fat’”

‘He means it’: Trump appears to take Putin’s denial about election meddling at face value

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website November 11, 2017:

President Trump on Nov. 11 said he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being truthful when he denies that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. (Reuters)

While on his way to Hanoi, Vietnam, at the tail end of a 12-day trip across Asia, President Trump spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One after refusing to do press conferences with world leaders. He recapped the reception the Chinese gave him and appeared to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial about election meddling. Here’s his conversation with reporters, annotated with Genius.com. Click on the highlighted text to read the annotations.  Continue reading “‘He means it’: Trump appears to take Putin’s denial about election meddling at face value”

‘He said he didn’t meddle’: Trump talks with Putin about U.S. elections and Syria in brief interactions

The following article by Ashley Parker, David Nakamura and Karen DeYoung was posted on the Washington Post website November 11, 2017:

President Trump on Nov. 11 said he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being truthful when he denies that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. (Reuters)

HANOI — President Trump said Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin again denied that Moscow tampered in the U.S. presidential campaign last year.

The two men had brief conversations during a larger meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Danang, Vietnam, before Trump flew to Hanoi for a bilateral meeting Sunday with Vietnamese leaders.

Trump said that he had “two or three” brief conversations with Putin mostly centered on the war in Syria, but added that he pressed the Russian leader on Moscow’s role in attempting to interfere in the 2016 election. Continue reading “‘He said he didn’t meddle’: Trump talks with Putin about U.S. elections and Syria in brief interactions”

Trump on Putin Election Meddling Denials: He ‘Means It’

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website November 11, 2017:

Chinese President Xi Jinping described as ‘more powerful’ than Mao Zedong

President Donald Trump said Saturday he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin “means it” when he denies meddling in last year’s U.S. presidential election. He also said Chinese President Xi Jinping is “more powerful” than Mao Zedong, one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.

Trump said he again asked Putin on the sidelines of a summit of powerful Pacific Rim countries if Russia meddled in the election. Putin again denied it — but the president did not tell reporters traveling with him aboard Air Force One if he warned Putin to cease such tactics.

“I just asked him again. He said he … absolutely did not meddle in our election, he did not do what they are saying he did,” Trump said. “You have President Putin very strongly, vehemently says he has nothing to do with that. Now, you are not going to get into an argument, you are going to start talking about Syria and the Ukraine.” Continue reading “Trump on Putin Election Meddling Denials: He ‘Means It’”

Trump won’t argue with Putin over election interference

The following article by Alicia Cohn was posted on the Hill website November 11, 2017:

© Getty Images

President Trump said Saturday he isn’t going to “argue” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who denies that Moscow sought to influence the 2016 presidential election.

“Every time he sees me he says, ‘I didn’t do that,’ and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, according to White House pool reports.

“I can’t stand there and argue with him, I would rather have him get out of Syria,” Trump said. “You have President Putin very strongly, vehemently says he has nothing to do with that. Now, you are not going to get into an argument, you are going to start talking about Syria and the Ukraine.” Continue reading “Trump won’t argue with Putin over election interference”