There is no more accepting Donald Trump’s flip-flopping on whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election. His position is clear. He does NOT believe Russia meddled in the election. There is no double negative here. He said so in Helsinki almost a week ago and he made his position clear again on Twitter today. Sure he read a prepared statement a few days ago claiming he misspoke while standing next to Vladimir Putin last week. But we know Twitter is where he airs his true feelings and with that in mind he decided to correct the record today with this tweet.
So President Obama knew about Russia before the Election. Why didn’t he do something about it? Why didn’t he tell our campaign? Because it is all a big hoax, that’s why, and he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2018
Remember all those GOP Senators and Congressman who said they accepted that Trump misspoke? Are they feeling like Trump played them again?
Last week, Senators from @LindseyGrahamSC to @marcorubio contorted themselves, to "buy in" on Trump's weak walkback from the Putin press conference.
Now that Trump has gone and once again declared US intel on Russia's attack a "hoax," will they finally grow a political spine?
— VoteVets (@votevets) July 22, 2018
Russia interfering in the election is “all a big hoax,” the president says, contradicting himself, his Intel chiefs and the Senate and House Intel Committees. This is obviously the president’s point of view, no matter how many times his staffers goad him to say otherwise. https://t.co/TkOz1RU6Fs
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 22, 2018
Well that didn’t take long.
Trump sided with Putin against the unanimous Intel Community assessment that Russia interfered in the election to help Trump.
Then he backpedaled like a circus clown last week (kind of).
Now he’s back to calling it a hoax.
Sigh (for democracy). https://t.co/okxMSnq3QQ
— Colin Kahl (@ColinKahl) July 22, 2018
Days after saying he really does accept the findings of the intelligence agencies that Russia intervened in the election, Trump walks back the walk back and says again that "it is all a big hoax."
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 22, 2018
He will never be able to admit fully that Russia is responsible because the minute he does, it means the investigation that has indicted 25 Russians isn’t a witch hunt. The Helsinki Trump is the real Trump. https://t.co/OjUZ2GJ50i
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) July 22, 2018