Trump gets note saying 'DO NOT CONGRATULATE' Putin from advisor. Then he did.
President Donald Trump is not always so great at following directions.
The Washington Post reports that Trump received a specific warning from his national security advisers on Tuesday which said to not congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection. In fact, the message couldn't have been more clear.
"DO NOT CONGRATULATE," it reportedly said in all caps. Trump did it anyway.
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Trump spoke with reporters in the Oval Office on the same day and revealed that during a "very good call" with Putin, Trump congratulated him on his reelection. It's one thing to ignore advice from your advisors, but then to tell a room of reporters is something else.
The Post notes that it's unclear if Trump even read the memo, noting that he initiated the call and opened with the congratulations.
The Putin praise received quick criticism from Senator John McCain, who said "an American president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections."
After the note detail broke, people began tweeting some memes and their own advice at President Trump, hoping he would, you know, do the exact opposite of what he was told.
“DO NOT CONGRATULATE” is what it says on my organ donor card.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) March 20, 2018
"DO NOT ADMIT TO COLLUSION"
— 🍺Skeletor Brewing Company 🍻 (@LateNightCurry) March 20, 2018
DO NOT RELEASE YOUR TAX RETURNS
— Jeffrey Vagle (@jvagle) March 20, 2018
DO NOT CONGRATULATE pic.twitter.com/Jh1DxXJ0UK
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) March 20, 2018
If someone just leaves a note saying DO NOT RESIGN on Trump's desk, we could be out of this mess by Monday.
— Jennifer Wright (@JenAshleyWright) March 21, 2018
DO NOT OBSTRUCT JUSTICE
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) March 21, 2018
DO NOT CONGRATULATE pic.twitter.com/AaChEkdviv
— Scout 🕊 (@about_scout) March 20, 2018
The holy trinity of DO NOT CONGRATULATE pic.twitter.com/9t9KyOfoab
— Noah 🌔 (@NoahJAguirre) March 21, 2018
Can someone from the White House write “DO NOT RESIGN” for Trump so he will ignore it and resign anyway.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) March 21, 2018
Donald Trump Jr. handing his dad a piece of paper: “Do NOT finally tell your son you're proud of him"
— Jason O. Gilbert (@gilbertjasono) March 21, 2018
Though President Trump has faced many criticisms over Russian meddling in the 2016 election, we should note that President Obama also congratulated Putin on his "win" in 2012, though he did wait a few days.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to a question asking if the White House believed the election was "free and fair."
“We don’t get to dictate how other countries operate,” Sanders said. “What we do know is that Putin has been elected in their country, and that’s not something that we can dictate to them how they operate.”
