Trump unleashes angry, error-laden tweets
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump lashed out with fresh anger about the intensifying Russia probe over the weekend, accusing Democrats of enabling a foreign adversary to interfere in the 2016 election and attacking the FBI as well as his own national security adviser.
In a defiant and errorladen tweetstorm that was remarkable even by his own combative standards, Trump stewed aloud about the latest indictments brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller against Russians for their elaborate campaign to denigrate Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and push voters toward Trump.
The president seized on Mueller’s evidence of the expansive scope of the Russian influence efforts to claim that the indictments exonerate him and prove there was “no collusion.” But the special counsel’s investigation of possible complicity between Russia and the Trump campaign is continuing, as is the examination of whether Trump has sought to obstruct justice.
In a string of 10 Twitter messages — which began after 11 p.m. Saturday and ended around noon Sunday, and which included profanity and misspellings — Trump opened a window into his state of mind, even as Trump’s representatives at a global security conference in Germany advised jittery allies to generally ignore the president’s tweets.
Trump’s latest attacks built on remarks last week in which he misrepresented the evidence revealed by Mueller. He tweeted falsely, “I never said Russia did not meddle in the election.” He blamed the Obama administration for doing “nothing” to stop the intrusion. He rebuked national security adviser H.R. McMaster for publicly acknowledging that the evidence of Russian interference was “incontrovertible.”
And he held the FBI responsible for last week’s devastating shooting at a Parkland, Fla., school that left 17 dead. Trump tweeted that the bureau was committing so many resources to the Russia probe that it missed “all of the many signals” about the shooter.
One topic Trump avoided in his missives was punishment for Russia. The president did not spell out how his administration might seek to retaliate against the Russians or how it may try to protect the U.S. electoral system from continued attacks, which the nation’s intelligence chiefs warned last week should be expected.
“What is it we’re going to do about the threat posed by the Russians? He never talks about that. It’s all about himself,” James Clapper, who was director of national intelligence during the 2016 election, said on CNN.
Trump blamed the various domestic investigations into Russia’s intrusions — as opposed to the interference itself — for sowing discord in America.
Trump tweeted Sunday, “If it was the GOAL of Russia to create discord, disruption and chaos within the U.S. then, with all of the Committee Hearings, Investigations and Party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. Get smart America!”
Trump sent his messages from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, where he was ensconced for two straight days. He spent much of the time watching cable news, venting to friends about the Russia investigation and complaining that it has been driving so much press coverage. The president also surveyed Mar-a-Lago Club members about whether he ought to champion gun control measures in the wake of last week’s school massacre in nearby Parkland, telling them that he was closely monitoring the media appearances by some of the surviving students, according to people who spoke with him there.
Trump’s weekend rant comes at a precarious time for the president, who is grappling with a number of scandals, both professional and personal.
The White House is under siege for its handling of domestic abuse allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter, which in turn has drawn unwelcome attention to its security clearance process and the tenuous status of senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner. Two of Trump’s Cabinet secretaries - David Shulkin at Veterans Affairs and Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency - are under scrutiny for taxpayer reimbursement for luxury travel.
After visiting victims and first responders at an area hospital on Friday evening, Trump did not leave Mar-a-Lago on Saturday or Sunday, skipping his usual rounds of golf at his nearby course in what aides described as a decision to show respect for the 17 people killed in Parkland.
Instead, Trump spent his time watching television, talking with friends and tweeting, aides said, breaking up that routine on Sunday for a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. On Saturday night, Trump dined with talk-show host Geraldo Rivera, as well as the president’s two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric. First lady Melania Trump, also in Florida for the weekend, did not join her husband in the dining room, according to two attendees.