Trump insists he did warn Putin at talks
Second ‘walk-back’ on election interference
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump spent a second day on Wednesday managing the political fallout from his widely criticised meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, shifting stances and mopping up what the White House said were misstatements.
His toughness with the longtime American foe in question, Mr Trump said he told the Russian president face-to-face during Monday’s summit to stay out of America’s elections “and that’s the way it’s going to be’’.
That rhetoric marked a turnabout from Mr Trump’s first, upbeat description of his sit-down with Mr Putin. Still, Mr Trump backtracked on whether Russia is currently targeting US elections. When asked the question on Wednesday, he answered “No’’, a reply that put him sharply at odds with recent public warnings from his own intelligence chief.
Hours later, the White House stepped in to say Mr Trump’s answer wasn’t what it appeared.
The zigzagging laid bare the White House’s search for a path out of trouble that has dogged the administration’s discussions of Russia from the start, but spiralled after Mr Trump’s trip to Helsinki. After days of criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, Trump — a politician who celebrates his brash political incorrectness — has appeared more sensitive than usual to outside opprobrium.
The scale of the bipartisan outcry at Mr Trump’s stance toward Mr Putin has only been rivalled by his 2017 waffling over condemning white supremacist demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“I let him know we can’t have this,’’ Mr Trump told CBS News of his conversations with Mr Putin. “We’re not going to have it, and that’s the way it’s going to be.’’ Would he hold Mr Putin personally responsible for further election interference? “I would, because he’s in charge of the country.’’
The CBS interview came at the end of two days of shifting statements. On Monday, Mr Trump appeared to question the findings of US intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
His reservations, expressed 18 months into his presidency and as he stood standing next to Mr Putin on foreign soil, prompted blistering criticism at home, even from prominent fellow Republicans.
On Tuesday, he delivered a scripted statement to “clarify’’ his remarks on Monday. He said he misspoke by one word when he said he saw no reason to believe Russia had interfered in the 2016 US election.
On Wednesday, he was asked during a cabinet meeting if Russia was still targeting the US, and he answered “No” without elaborating. That came just days after National Intelligence director Dan Coats sounded an alarm, comparing the cyberthreat today to the way US officials said before 9/11 that intelligence channels were “blinking red’’ with warning signs that a terror attack was imminent.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said later on Wednesday that Mr Trump actually was saying “No’’ to answering additional questions, even though he subsequently went on to address Russia.
“The president is wrong,’’ GOP Sen Susan Collins of Maine said of Mr Trump’s one-word response. Told that Ms Sanders had since clarified, she responded: “There’s a walk-back of the walk-back of the walkback of the walk-back? This is dizzying.’’
Mr Trump has refined and sharpened his presentation in the two days since Helsinki. At the news conference with Mr Putin, he was asked if he would denounce what happened in 2016 and warn Mr Putin never to do it again, and he did not directly answer. Instead, he went into a rambling response, including demands for investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server and his description of Mr Putin’s “extremely strong and powerful’’ denial of meddling.
Mr Trump asserted on Wednesday at the White House that no other American president has been as tough on Russia. He cited US sanctions and the expulsion of alleged Russian spies from the US, telling reporters that Mr Putin “understands it, and he’s not happy about it’’.
The muddied waters have deepened critics’ concerns that Mr Trump is not taking threats to the US electoral system seriously enough. Pressed on why Mr Trump has repeatedly passed on opportunities to publicly condemn Mr Putin’s actions, Ms Sanders suggested Mr Trump was working to make the most of an “opportunity’’ for the two leaders to work together on shared interests.
One such opportunity is what Mr Trump termed an “incredible offer’’ from Mr Putin to allow the US access to Russians accused of election hacking and other interference. In exchange, Mr Putin wants Russian interviews of Americans accused by the Kremlin of unspecified crimes.
Ms Sanders said Mr Trump was still weighing the offer with his team, adding, “We’ve committed to nothing.’’ Russian officials have said they want to interview Kremlin critics Bill Browder and former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.
Mr McFaul tweeted on Wednesday that he hoped the White House would denounce “this ridiculous request from Putin’’. Lawmakers have urged Mr Trump to reject the deal.