Following his seemingly enforced ‘clarification’ of comments made about US intelligence agencies at the Helsinki press conference, President Trump fired off a tweet storm Wednesday morning, declaring that “Some people HATE the fact that I got along well with President Putin.”
Trump started off by claiming that many within the intelligence community, in the higher echelons, were very happy with his performance at the summit.
“We got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match. Big results will come!” Trump tweeted:
So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki. Putin and I discussed many important subjects at our earlier meeting. We got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match. Big results will come!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2018
The President then claimed that positive results will come out of the summit, as they did with the “acknowledged triumph” of the NATO meeting, where member states agreed to put up more funding.
While the NATO meeting in Brussels was an acknowledged triumph, with billions of dollars more being put up by member countries at a faster pace, the meeting with Russia may prove to be, in the long run, an even greater success. Many positive things will come out of that meeting..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2018
Trump then brought North Korea into the picture, claiming that Russia has “agreed to help,” presumably with the process of moving toward the rogue nation scrapping its nuclear weapons program.
….Russia has agreed to help with North Korea, where relationships with us are very good and the process is moving along. There is no rush, the sanctions remain! Big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2018
Then came the kicker.
After reading a scripted ‘clarification’ yesterday, saying he has faith in the intelligence agencies, Trump declared that haters suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” “would rather go to war” with Russia than see he and Putin get along.
Some people HATE the fact that I got along well with President Putin of Russia. They would rather go to war than see this. It’s called Trump Derangement Syndrome!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2018
During the clarification statement, Trump said “In a key sentence in my remarks, I said the word ‘would’ instead of ‘wouldn’t.’”
“The sentence should have been, ‘I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t, or why it wouldn’t be Russia,’” the President said Tuesday.
“So just to repeat it, I said the word ‘would’ instead of ‘wouldn’t,’ and the sentence should have been — and I thought I would maybe be a little bit unclear on the transcripts or unclear on the actual video — the sentence should have been, ‘I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.’” Trump stated.
The clarification was widely mocked, with CNN leading the charge. Host Erin Burnett asked “Did the dog eat his homework, too?” “[H]ow stupid does President Trump think we Americans are?”
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden also lambasted Trump, claiming that his attempt to smooth over the backlash only “made things worse” for himself.
Gen. Michael Hayden says Trump's press-op yesterday "just made things worse" with the intelligence community. "Who do you think you're kidding?" he asks the President, adding "How dumb do you think we are?" https://t.co/2rQLAttihv https://t.co/IhAjSywkSN
— New Day (@NewDay) July 18, 2018
“All that showed was that once again the president of the United States will say anything that he believes will suit his needs for the precise moment in which he is located,” Hayden said, adding “It is not anchored on anything outside of himself and his immediate needs.”
“What you had was, frankly, a hostage video with the president under duress saying what he had to say to meet the needs of the people who, off camera, were making demands,” Hayden admitted.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!