Trump ‘treasonous’, ‘bizarre’
Senior Republican politicians and former US intelligence officials responded with immediate outrage to Donald Trump’s extraordinary press conference in Helsinki – in which he declined to back his own agencies over Russian president Vladimir Putin – by describing his performance as ‘‘shameful’’, ‘‘treasonous’’, ‘‘bizarre’’ and ‘‘flatout wrong’’.
Even by the standards of Trump’s unpredictable and normsmashing presidency, there was a broad consensus that Trump’s joint press conference with Putin represented a genuinely unprecedented moment in American history. The leaders’ meeting was held just three days after 12 Russian intelligence officers were indicted for conspiring to influence the 2016 election.
Former CIA director John Brennan was among the most critical, saying that Trump had betrayed his country and should be impeached.
‘‘Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to and exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ Brennan said on Twitter, referring to the standard for impeachment outlined in the US constitution.
‘‘It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???’’
Former Republican presidential nominee John Mccain issued a blistering statement saying Trump had provided Putin with ‘‘an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world’’.
‘‘Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory,’’ he said.
‘‘The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naivete, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate.
‘‘But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake . . . No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.’’
Texas Republican congressman Will Hurd, a former CIA official, said: ‘‘I’ve seen Russian intelligence manipulate many people over my professional career and I never would have thought that the US President would become one of the ones getting played by old KGB hands.’’
Ben Sasse, a Republican senator from Nebraska, said it was ‘‘bizarre and flat-out wrong’’ for Trump to say both the United States and Russia were responsible for the deteriorating relationship between the former Cold War rivals.
‘‘America wants a good relationship with the Russian people but Vladimir Putin and his thugs are responsible for Soviet-style aggression,’’ Sasse said in a statement.
‘‘When the president plays these moral equivalence games, he gives Putin a propaganda win he desperately needs.’’
Republican Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, said: ‘‘The President must appreciate that Russia is not our ally.
‘‘There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals.’’
Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who regularly plays golf with the President, said the meeting was a ‘‘missed opportunity’’ by Trump to hold Russia accountable for the 2016 meddling ‘‘and deliver a strong warning regarding future elections’’. - Fairfax