| | | | 5 quotes that show Trump's true feelings on the Russia hack | | On Tuesday, President Donald Trump tried to clean up a major mess he made 24 hours earlier. In doing so, he revealed, yet again, that he doesn't really believe Russia sought to actively interfere in the 2016 election.
Here's what Trump said: "I have full faith and support in the intelligence community, I always have. Russia's actions had no impact. Let me be clear, I accept our intelligence community conclusion that meddling took place – could be other people also."
Which, if you read those words carefully, translates to this: I believe the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 election -- unless I don't!
(For your records: Here is the intelligence community report that made clear that Russia ran a broad-scale campaign to disrupt the 2016 election to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton. No other countries were mentioned in the report.)
The thing about Trump's "could be other people also" line is that he's done this exact same thing over and over again over the past few years. Marshall Cohen, CNN's resident Russia/Trump genius, offered up four other times when Trump followed the same blueprint.
1. "As far as hacking, I think it was Russia. But I think we also get hacked by other countries and other people." (January 2017)
2. "I've said it very, I've said it very simply. I think it could well have been Russia, but I think it could well have been other countries. I won't be specific, but I think a lot of people interfere." (June 2017)
3. "What I said there, I'm surprised that there's any conflict on this. What I said there is that I believe [Putin] believes that, and that's very important for somebody to believe. I believe that he feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election. As to whether I believe it or not, I'm with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with their leadership. I believe in our intel agencies, our intelligence agencies. I've worked with them very strongly." (November 2017)
4. "Certainly there was meddling. Probably there was meddling from other countries." (March 2018)
And, here's a fifth one -- just for fun -- from the campaign: "I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK? You don't know who broke in to DNC."
So, here we are.
The Point: Maya Angelou said it better than I ever could: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."
-- Chris | | "If I were asked to vote on this, I would vote to impeach the President."
-- Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who is challenging Republican Sen. Ted Cruz this fall | | | With a few notable exceptions, former President Barack Obama has mostly kept mum during Trump's presidency.
But a day after the the President's press conference with Putin in Helsinki, he spoke out -- in a speech honoring the late South African leader Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg:
CNN's Angela Dewan, David McKenzie and Brent Swails on what he said:
-- "The politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment began to appear. And that kind of politics is now on the move. It's on the move at a pace that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago."
-- "I am not being alarmist, I'm simply stating the facts. Look around — strongman politics are ascendant, suddenly, whereby elections and some pretense of democracy are maintained, the form of it, where those in power seek to undermine every institution or norm that gives democracy meaning."
-- "You have to believe in facts. Without facts there's no basis for cooperation. If I say this is a podium and you say this is an elephant, it's going to be hard for us to cooperate."
-- "I can't find common ground if somebody says that climate change just isn't happening, when almost all the world's scientists tell us it is. I don't know where to start talking to you about this. If you say it's an elaborate hoax, where do we start?"
Watch Obama's remarks here. Read them in their entirety here.
| | | Rejoice! The new Jayhawks album -- with the awesome title "Back Roads and Abandoned Motels" -- is out today! | | | Today's topic: Paul Ryan's reaction to Trump's news conference with Putin. | | Lest he forget...
A day after Trump sided with Putin's denials, the President on Tuesday -- in an odd, scripted but sometimes rambling monologue -- said he actually supported US intel agencies' assessment of what happened during the 2016 campaign. The confusion was, Trump insisted, simply a matter of his failure to accurately convey a "double negative."
But anyway, as seen above -- top, right-hand corner of pic -- he also made sure not to forget his favorite Russia probe-related talking point.
CNN's Kevin Liptak has the wrap. | | BORDER CRISIS DEADLINE NEARS | | CNN's Holly Yan has the latest on the family separation crisis:
-- The US government hasn't been able to find the parents of 71 children who were likely separated from their families, a Health and Human Services official said Monday.
-- "There are some children who we believe are separated for whom we have not yet identified the parent," said Jonathan White, HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response. He told a federal judge on Monday that of the 2,551 kids in federal custody believed to be separated, officials have confirmed matches with 2,480 parents.
-- White said 1,609 such parents are in government custody. That means potentially hundreds of parents have either been deported or released already, or may be in federal or state criminal custody.
-- US District Judge Dana Sabraw has ordered the government to temporarily halt the deportations of reunited families in light of a newly filed emergency motion. | | 'WE WANT TO DEMOCRATIZE EVERYTHING' | | In the space of a few months, the decades-old Democratic Socialists of America have gone from relative obscurity to a rising power in progressive politics.
They backed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th Congressional District, where she ousted Rep. Joe Crowley last month, and a handful of other surprise winners, in states like Virginia and Pennsylvania.
So what is DSA really about?
The surge in interest about the group -- which is not a political party -- has created some confusion, among both (mainstream) Democrats and Republicans. Greg spoke to DSA National Director Maria Svart about what democratic socialism is (and isn't), what the group's goals are and where Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, fits in to the picture.
Here's a taste:
CNN: What is the fundamental difference between the politics of DSA and someone like Bernie Sanders?
Svart: "Well, we have one foot inside the Democratic Party and one foot outside the Democratic Party in the same way we have one foot inside electoral politics and one foot outside. Our vision is to build a mass, multiracial, working-class movement that brings people together across our differences and demands that our society and our economy be run democratically.
"Most of us believe that this will not work under capitalism. Our north star is totally transforming the system, even though our immediate vision and our immediate political program is similar to Bernie Sanders'. What's different is we want to democratize everything, ultimately. That's the goal." Read it all here. | | | From Brenna: "President Trump had to address his comments about Russian interference in the US election, and I don't think anyone is ever super thrilled when they have to explain themselves. Except when you have to explain jokes, which are always funnier when explained. Explain to your friends what you love about The Point when you tell them to subscribe." | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba.
Sign up to get updates on your favorite CNN Original Series, special CNN news coverage and other newsletters. | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment