Trump's summit with Putin in Finland, and the associated news conference, have cast Trump in a particularly poor light, with even numerous conservatives criticizing his answers.
McCain: ‘No Prior President Has Ever Abased Himself More Abjectly Before a Tyrant’:
Trump's shocking statements and abasement of America at the press conference led to "treason" becoming the top-searched word in online-dictionaries.
Meanwhile, back in America, the DoJ announced it has arrested a major Russian operative named Butina, who is assistant to a Russian senator. And there's some pretty juicy stuff in the filings:
Also of note is that:
November 11, 2016: Maria Butina messages a Russian politician asking him what "our people" thought about a Secretary of State contender.
Late November 2016: Christopher Steele says Kremlin intervened to block Trump’s initial choice for Secretary of State, Mitt Romney.
From predicting a Republican win 18 months out from the election, to vetoing a secretary state nominee after the election... and the Russians appear to have significant influence on the GOP and the NRA. Meanwhile, Trump is making America look like an obvious puppet of Putin on the world stage.
McCain: ‘No Prior President Has Ever Abased Himself More Abjectly Before a Tyrant’:
The Arizona senator leads a chorus of GOP condemnations of the president’s press conference with Vladimir Putin.
In a shocking press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump said he didn’t “see any reason why” Russia would have meddled in the 2016 election. Instead of criticizing the Kremlin over its illegal annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, the president blamed both the U.S. and Russia for the strained state of relations, and called Robert Mueller’s investigation a “disaster for our country.”
Arizona senator John McCain described the 45-minute press conference as “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”... “No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.”....
Texas [Republican] congressman Will Hurd, a former CIA officer, suggested that Putin had successfully manipulated the president.
“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,” he said on Twitter.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman [Republican] Bob Corker told reporters that Trump’s remarks “made us look as a nation more like a pushover.” “I did not think this was a good moment for our country," he said, later adding, “This was a very good day for President Putin.”
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham described the press conference as a “missed opportunity” to hold Russia accountable for election interference. “This answer by President Trump will be seen by Russia as a sign of weakness and create far more problems than it solves,” he said in a tweet.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said there is “no question” that Russia interfered in the U.S. election.
“The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally,” he said. “There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals.”
In a shocking press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump said he didn’t “see any reason why” Russia would have meddled in the 2016 election. Instead of criticizing the Kremlin over its illegal annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, the president blamed both the U.S. and Russia for the strained state of relations, and called Robert Mueller’s investigation a “disaster for our country.”
Arizona senator John McCain described the 45-minute press conference as “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”... “No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.”....
Texas [Republican] congressman Will Hurd, a former CIA officer, suggested that Putin had successfully manipulated the president.
“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,” he said on Twitter.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman [Republican] Bob Corker told reporters that Trump’s remarks “made us look as a nation more like a pushover.” “I did not think this was a good moment for our country," he said, later adding, “This was a very good day for President Putin.”
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham described the press conference as a “missed opportunity” to hold Russia accountable for election interference. “This answer by President Trump will be seen by Russia as a sign of weakness and create far more problems than it solves,” he said in a tweet.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said there is “no question” that Russia interfered in the U.S. election.
“The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally,” he said. “There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals.”
Trump's shocking statements and abasement of America at the press conference led to "treason" becoming the top-searched word in online-dictionaries.
Meanwhile, back in America, the DoJ announced it has arrested a major Russian operative named Butina, who is assistant to a Russian senator. And there's some pretty juicy stuff in the filings:
BUTINA established contact with U.S. [GOP strategist] in Moscow in or around 2013. U.S. [GOP strategist] worked with BUTINA to jointly arrange introductions to U.S. persons having influence in American politics, including [the NRA], for the purpose of advancing the agenda of the Russian Federation...
Butina to US [GOP strategist] in March 2015: "[The Republican party] would likely obtain control over the U.S. government after the 2016 elections."...
On October 4, 2016, U.S. [GOP strategist] sent an email to an acquaintance. The email covered a number of topics. Within the email, U.S. [GOP strategist] stated, "Unrelated to specific presidential campaigns, I've been involved in securing a VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin and key [Republican party] leaders through, of all conduits, the [NRA]."
Butina to US [GOP strategist] in March 2015: "[The Republican party] would likely obtain control over the U.S. government after the 2016 elections."...
On October 4, 2016, U.S. [GOP strategist] sent an email to an acquaintance. The email covered a number of topics. Within the email, U.S. [GOP strategist] stated, "Unrelated to specific presidential campaigns, I've been involved in securing a VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin and key [Republican party] leaders through, of all conduits, the [NRA]."
Also of note is that:
November 11, 2016: Maria Butina messages a Russian politician asking him what "our people" thought about a Secretary of State contender.
Late November 2016: Christopher Steele says Kremlin intervened to block Trump’s initial choice for Secretary of State, Mitt Romney.
From predicting a Republican win 18 months out from the election, to vetoing a secretary state nominee after the election... and the Russians appear to have significant influence on the GOP and the NRA. Meanwhile, Trump is making America look like an obvious puppet of Putin on the world stage.
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