Trump under pressure
President greeted by cheering crowds in Poland as critics want him to confront Putin
WARSAW, Poland — On the eve of his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed Thursday to confront “new forms of aggression” targeting the West and called for Moscow to stop fomenting unrest around the world.
Buoyed by an electrified crowd of thousands in Poland chanting his name, Trump sought to show he wasn’t overlooking Russian actions that have elicited global consternation, especially from nearby nations in eastern and central Europe. He warned that western interests were being tested by “propaganda, financial crimes and cyber warfare,” forcing NATO to adapt.
“We urge Russia to cease its destabilizing activities in Ukraine and elsewhere, and its support for hostile regimes including Syria and Iran, and to join the community of responsible nations in our fight against common enemies and in defence of civilization itself,” Trump said in a speech in Warsaw’s Krasinski Square.
It was a critique that the president did not appear to extend to Russia’s actions last year during the presidential campaign. In a news conference before his speech, Trump questioned the veracity of American intelligence about foreign meddling in the election, arguing that Russia wasn’t the only country that may have interfered.
“Nobody really knows for sure,” Trump said.
Opening his second overseas trip as president, Trump also warned North Korea that he’s considering “some pretty severe things” in response to the isolated nation’s unprecedented launch of a missile capable of reaching the U.S. Though he declined to offer specifics on the U.S. response, Trump called on all nations to confront the North’s “very, very bad behaviour.”
He also stated unequivocally that the U.S. stands “firmly behind Article 5,” the NATO provision requiring the U.S. to defend other member nations if they come under attack. On his inaugural trip to Europe in May, Trump declined to affirm that commitment, to the dismay of U.S. allies who said it cast doubt on his allegiance to the alliance.
As U.S. investigations into Russia’s meddling forge ahead, Trump is under intense scrutiny for how he handles his first face-to-face session with Putin. U.S. intelligence officials say the unpredictable Russia leader ordered interference into the 2016 election that brought Trump to the White House.
From Poland, Trump took a short flight to Hamburg, Germany, where he was meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and having dinner with leaders of South Korea and Japan later Thursday.
Trump and Putin plan to sit down together on Friday in Hamburg, on the sidelines of the G20 summit of industrialized and developing economies. Asked whether he planned to discuss election meddling with Putin, Trump demurred.
But back in Washington, pressure was mounting from Trump’s critics in Congress for him to forcefully confront Putin. California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel, urged Trump to “have the courage” to raise the election issue directly, while several Senate Democrats insisted it would be a “severe dereliction” of Trump’s duties if he doesn’t.
Using information collected by the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency, the U.S. national intelligence director last year concluded that Moscow was behind the hack of Democratic Party email systems and attempted to influence the 2016 election to benefit Trump.