USA TODAY International Edition
Trump courts CIA in visit
President tells staffers he has their backs, jabs at media
No one will support the intelligence community more than he will, President Trump told a crowd at CIA headquarters Saturday, while he also attacked the news media for reporting that he had a “feud” with intelligence agencies.
Although he has clashed with intelligence officials in recent weeks over investigations into Russian election activity, Trump told intelligence agency employees that “you’re going to get so much backing” from his administration.
Describing the CIA as a key to victory over Islamic Statestyle terrorists, Trump also talked politics during his visit, telling employees that he got the most votes in last year’s election from members of the military and intelligence communities, and “probably everybody in this room voted for me” in the election,
“We’re all on the same wavelength,” Trump said while standing at a memorial wall honoring CIA agents who have given their lives in service to the nation.
Trump’s CIA trip — his first official visit as chief executive — came hours after he attended a National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral, nearly 24 hours after being sworn in as the nation’s 45th president.
Meanwhile, thousands marched in the streets of Washington and other cities across the globe to protest his presidency and even challenge its
legitimacy.
In other second- day developments:
The new president confirmed that British Prime Minister Theresa May will be visiting him at the White House “very soon.”
The Trump Department of Justice said the president is within his rights to hire son- in- law Jared Kushner as a White House adviser; a Justice memorandum said a nepotism law passed by Congress does not apply to the executive branch.
Trump again took to social media, tweeting that “I am honored to serve you, the great American People, as your 45th President of the United States!”
Trump’s visit to CIA headquarters in Virginia resembled something of a peace mission.
During the transition between election and inauguration, leaders of the intelligence community said Russia engineered the hacking in an effort to help Trump, while Trump and supporters said other countries could have been involved. He also claimed the intelligence community leaked damaging information on him, including allegations out of Russia. ( Trump later acknowledged that Russia was behind the hacking, but that the interference didn’t affect the counting of votes.)
In his appearance before CIA employees, Trump blamed the media for what he called false reporting of a “feud” with intelligence, saying that “I have a running one with the media; they are the most dishonest people on Earth.”
He also attacked media coverage of parts of his Inauguration Day, saying media outlets played down the size of the crowd he drew.
Democrats cited claims against Russia and the Trump campaign in reacting to the candidate’s CIA visit.
“After he finished ranting about crowd sizes on the National Mall, I hope President Trump sat down for an interview with the CIA to help with their investigation into his team’s possible collusion with the Kremlin to win the election,” said Zac Petkanas, a senior adviser to the Democratic National Committee. “Next, he can sit down with the FBI who have sought warrants to monitor his team for the same reason.”
Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted praise for Friday’s inaugural events ( and one news network’s coverage of it).
“A fantastic day and evening in Washington D. C.,” Trump posted, using his personal feed. “Thank you to @ FoxNews and so many other news outlets for the GREAT reviews of the speech!”
The new president extolled his Twitter use during one of the Inaugural Balls Friday night, asking the crowd, “should I keep the Twitter going or not?” When supporters roared their approval, Trump replied, “I think so. You know, the enemies keep saying, ‘ Oh, that’s terrible.’ But it’s a way of bypassing dishonest media.”
Trump supporters said the Inaugural Address, criticized by some pundits as dark, gave them hope he will be able to create the conditions for more jobs and better trade agreements with foreign competitors.