At a news conference in Vietnam, Trump distanced himself from remarks he made on Saturday in which he suggested he believed Putin when he said there had been no Russian meddling in the election that took him to the White House.
The comments had drawn criticism at home because U.S. intelligence agencies have long since concluded there was Russian meddling.
“As to whether I believe it or not, I’m with our agencies, especially as currently constituted,” Trump said at a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.
“As currently led, by fine people, I believe very much in our intelligence agencies.”
Of course this only came after Trump was excoriated by folks like John McCain, Preet Bharara, and even his own CIA Director.
And you will notice he only wants to give credit to the current leaders of the intelligence agencies that HE appointed even though they are in total agreement with their predecessors.
However before anybody gives Trump a standing ovation for finally trusting his own intelligence agencies over a former KGB agent, you should probably hear this part as well:
Trump said he still believed Putin did not think there had been Russian meddling.
“I believe that President Putin really feels, and feels strongly, that he did not meddle in our election,” Trump said, while adding: “What he believes is what he believes.”
So Trump believes the intelligence agencies in that he think that the Russians influenced out elections, but not when they say it was directed by Vladimir Putin himself?
Or does he completely trust them but think that Putin suffers from some kind of split personality disorder, where there is a good Vlad, who only wants to repair Russia's relationship with America, and a bad Vlad, who wants to destroy western democracy everywhere in the world?
Because if you truly believe our American intelligence agencies, Putin not only interfered in our 2016 election, but interference directed at America and other western countries continues to this day.
For his part Putin also offered a few other denials as well yesterday.
Courtesy of The Hill:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday denied any connections between his country and President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, claiming that such ties are false rumors being propagated by the U.S. leader's political opponents.
During a briefing at the conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam, Putin also dismissed reports that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross holds a stake in a company that does business with a Russian company with possible ties to the Russian president's son-in-law, according to multiple reports.
I am just going to go ahead and assume that Trump is taking Putin's side on these allegations as well.
Saves time that way.
On another somewhat related note Trump is now lobbing preschool insult at the leader of North Korea.
Every day, it just gets worse.Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017
Source http://ift.tt/2jlrmUG
