Donald Trump Says No Reason To Think Russia Tampered In Election; Putin Dodges Pee-Tape Question
President Donald Trump denigrated the U.S. intelligence community in Helsinki today as he stood next to Russian Ruler Vladimir Putin who all U.S. intelligence sources insist meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
“I don’t seen any reason” why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 presidential election, Trump told a Helsinki hall full of reporters. “I don’t see why they would do it,” Trump added.
Putin, meanwhile, got asked if he had any compromising intel on Trump. “I didn’t know Trump was in town” when he stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Moscow in 2013, during which visit, the infamous dossier suggests, the Kremlin collected compromising material on the future president, (aka pee tape).
Putin suggested to the American reporters in the hall that they “disregard” the issue and “don’t think about it any more.”
Putin’s very loud non-answer to the question to the very direct question suggests he does.
“Our relationship has never been worse than it is now. However that changed about four hours ago,” Trump crowed at the top of the presser.
“I really believe that.”
Then he demonstrated why he thought that, declining to hold the former KGB agent at his side accountable for, well anything. But he blamed Democrats, the media, Obama and the FBI for a lot.
“As president I cannot make decisions on foreign policy in an effort to appease partisan critics, or the media, or Democrats who want to do nothing but resist and obstruct,” Trump said during his gobsmacking presser that shot #TreasonSmmit to the top trending spot on Twitter internationally.
Trump said he and Putin spent a “great deal” of time discussing Russian meddling in the election. Didn’t happen, he said.
“During the meetings, I addressed directly with President Putin the issue of Russian interference in our elections. I felt the message was best delivered in person,” Trump explained.
Putin then took a crack, saying, “President Trump mentioned the issue of the so-called interference of Russia in the American elections, and I had to reiterate things I said several times, including during our personal contacts, that the Russian state has never interfered and is not going to interfere in internal American affairs, including election process.”
Asked if he holds Russia accountable for anything and, if so, what, Trump responded, “I do feel we have both made some mistakes. The probe is a disaster for our country, it has kept us apart, separated. There was no collusion at all everybody knows it.”
A man identified as being with The Nation had been forcibly ejected from the presser before the two leaders entered the room. The reporter was attempting to hold up a sign when security, who were not U.S. Secret Service according to press accounts, grabbed him as he held up what appeared to be a handwritten sign. Previously he had been fingered by the security guards and escorted from the room; a few minutes later he returned, flanked by same guards, to pick up his belongings at the chair in which he was seated for the presser.
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