Anderson Cooper calls Trump-Putin press conference ‘disgraceful’

President Trump’s press conference with President Putin was met with near-universal criticism On Monday morning, President Trump and President Putin held a press conference following their meeting in Helsinki, Finland. The biggest takeaway was Trump refusing to say if he believed American intelligence agencies’ findings that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Instead, he seemed to trust a different source: his pal Putin. When asked by a reporter if he believes Putin or the US intelligence community about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump said, “My people came to me, [National intelligence director] Dan Coats came to me and some others, they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.” Following the presser, news anchors were visibly dumbfounded at Trump’s performance. On CNN, Anderson Cooper struck the strongest tone, saying to viewers, “You have been watching one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president at a summit in front of a Russian leader certainly that I’ve ever seen.” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was similarly shocked with Trump although he was more coy with his criticism. “All of you who are watching today will be able to tell your friends, family, your children, your grandchildren, you’re watching a moment of history. It may not be for the right reasons. Meghan McCain, daughter of Republican Senator John McCain, tweeted that she was “horrified” by Trump’s statements.