Trump: Russians are 'laughing their asses off' after stirring U.S. election chaos
President Trump fumed on Twitter on Saturday night and Sunday morning after 13 Russians and three Russian entities were indicted for allegedly interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
Among other things, Trump pointed to the various committee hearings and investigations as evidence that Russia succeeded in its goal of stirring up chaos. They are “laughing their asses off in Moscow,” the commander in chief said.
If it was the GOAL of Russia to create discord, disruption and chaos within the U.S. then, with all of the Committee Hearings, Investigations and Party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. Get smart America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018
But the Russian regime was curiously absent from his list of enemies. Indeed, though Trump said Sunday that he never denied there was Russian election meddling, he has emphasized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial.
“Every time he sees me, he said: ‘I didn’t do that.’ And I believe — I really believe — that when he tells me that, he means it,” Trump said in November 2017.
In the series of tweets Sunday, Trump blamed former President Barack Obama for Russian interference, mocked a U.S. congressman, and gloated over Democrat Hillary Clinton’s loss.
He started off by relitigating the money exchanged during the controversial Iran deal focused on reducing the country’s nuclear stockpile. The Obama administration said the settlement was to resolve a dispute between the countries that was decades old.
Never gotten over the fact that Obama was able to send $1.7 Billion Dollars in CASH to Iran and nobody in Congress, the FBI or Justice called for an investigation!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018
Trump supposedly thanked Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for saying the Obama administration shared part of the blame for Russian interference. Schiff recently told NBC News that Obama should have established a “more forceful deterrent” against potential cyberattacks after North Korea went after Sony in 2014.
Finally, Liddle’ Adam Schiff, the leakin’ monster of no control, is now blaming the Obama Administration for Russian meddling in the 2016 Election. He is finally right about something. Obama was President, knew of the threat, and did nothing. Thank you Adam!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018
The president then turned to Russia and shared a political cartoon from a Twitter user identified as “Ivan Trumpovic” that lampooned CNN for its coverage of the issue.
I never said Russia did not meddle in the election, I said “it may be Russia, or China or another country or group, or it may be a 400 pound genius sitting in bed and playing with his computer.” The Russian “hoax” was that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia – it never did!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018
The Fake News of big ratings loser CNN. https://t.co/rYsv90cnvs
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018
Trump’s tweetstorm came on the heels of U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller’s Friday indictment of Russians and Russian companies, including the Internet Research Agency, which is based in Saint Petersburg and best known for its online trolling. The indictment said the Russian propagandists conspired to sow discord in the U.S. political system by adopting fake online personas to push disruptive messages and staging political rallies posing as Americans, among other tactics.
According to Mueller’s office, which has not finished its investigation, this Russian propaganda was intended to discredit Clinton and bolster support for Trump.
Two Trump campaign officials, including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about their contacts with Russia and are now cooperating with Mueller’s probe.
But on Saturday night, Trump said FBI officials were spending “too much time” on the Russia investigation, linking the issue to last week’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla.
Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign – there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018
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