Trump struggles to contain firestorm
President and aides in damage control mode for third day
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump struggled Wednesday to contain the furor over his summit with Vladimir Putin, as he gave conflicting signals about whether he believes there are ongoing Russian threats to American elections.
For a third day, Trump and his aides were in damage control mode in the face of criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers dismayed by the president’s friendly demeanor toward Putin and his failure to confront the Russian leader about Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump started the day by insisting on Twitter that the Helsinki meeting with the Russian president had been a success and those blasting it were afflicted with “Trump Derangement Syndrome!”
Then after a morning Cabinet meeting, when asked whether the Russians are still targeting the United States, Trump said “no” twice – a response that seemed to contradict a warning from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats this week that Russia is engaged in “ongoing, pervasive efforts” to meddle in American elections.
By afternoon spokeswoman Sarah Sanders tried to clarify Trump’s morning comments, saying the president’s “no” was meant to make clear he didn’t
want to respond to reporters’ questions. “We believe that the threat still exists” and are taking actions to block Russian cyberattacks, Sanders said.
Then later Trump toughened his message, telling CBS News he holds Putin personally responsible for Russian activity in the U.S. election “because he’s in charge of the country, just like I consider myself to be responsible for things that happen in this country.”
Trump claimed he told Putin, “We can’t have this. We’re not going to have it. And that’s the way it’s going to be.”
Not everyone was convinced. Critics questioned Trump’s sincerity after his revised claim that he has faith in the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered with the 2016 election, as opposed to Putin’s denials.
“Mr. President, it is time to stop taking the word of a KGB agent over that of your own intelligence officials,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate’s top Democrat.
Criticism of the meeting from members of both parties continued to drown out other messages from the White House Thursday. Sen. Bob Corker, RTenn., promised to grill Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the meeting with Putin during a hearing next week, which will help keep the issue at the fore.
“I’ll take a back seat to no one in the United States Senate on challenging what happened at NATO, what happened in Helsinki,” Corker said.
“I take a back seat on no one on pressing this administration for some of the worst things that I’ve seen happen in public as it relates to our country.”
Taking to Twitter to defend his meeting with Putin, Trump said, “Russia has agreed to help with North Korea,” and the two leaders “discussed many important subjects” at their summit, though he did not provide details.
“We got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match,” Trump said. “Big results will come!”
The president’s tweets did not address the reason the meeting triggered such a furor: Trump’s suggestion that he believed Putin’s denials of Russian election interference over the conclusions of U.S. intelligence officials who have pursued criminal charges against Russian nationals.
Trump walked back his comments Tuesday at the White House, saying, “I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place.”
Trump said he misspoke during the Putin news conference, saying he used the word “would” rather that “wouldn’t” in discussing Russian meddling. The president said he meant to say, “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.”
The attempted clarification did not persuade critics who said Trump is more supportive of adversaries such as Putin than of allies such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Schumer questioned whether Putin has compromising material on Trump.
Democrats scoffed at the notion that Russia is no longer targeting American elections.
“This is simply false,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
He said, “I’ll take Dan Coats’ word over Putin’s any day.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said the president “handed global leadership and stature, free of charge, to Vladimir Putin, a man who has spent his entire life working against the interests of the United States and who brutally suppresses and murders his own citizens.”
She called for Trump’s interpreter for the Putin meeting to testify before Congress.
Republican lawmakers also criticized Trump’s comments in Helsinki and made clear they stand with U.S. intelligence agencies and European allies who suspect Russia of trying to destabilize the West.
Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he’s looking at whether it would be appropriate to ask for any notes taken by the interpreter who was in the room during the private meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki.
“It would be unprecedented,” the Tennessee Republican said.
Pompeo will appear before the committee next week to answer questions about the Helsinki summit and Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.