It’s not surprising, but it’s significant, given it’s the first one after the Mueller report detailed Russia’s “sweeping and systematic” effort in the election.
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin briefly discussed the Mueller report in an hour-long phone call on Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said later in the day. But she suddenly clammed up when asked whether they had discussed the thing that launched the whole Mueller probe: Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
And now Trump seems to have clarified that they did not:
Kaitlan Collins✔@kaitlancollins
Welker: Did you tell him not to meddle in the next election?
Trump: “Excuse me. I’m talking. I’m answering this question. You are very rude.”
Welker: Did you tell him not to meddle in the next election?
Trump: “We didn’t discuss that, really, we didn’t discuss it.”
Which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Trump has made clear this isn’t his favorite topic. Reporting has long indicated that he does what he can to avoid it. The New York Times reported last week that then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was instructed not to bring it up in Trump’s presence, even as she was tasked with ensuring the security of the 2020 election. Similarly, officials told The Washington Post in late 2017 that mentions of Russian interference take meetings with Trump “off the rails.” This would seem a somewhat tired story.
View the complete May 3 article by Aaron Blake on The Washington Post website here.