President Trump just clarified his controversial comments on Russia during a press briefing while meeting with Republican leaders.
There’s been a ton of pressure on Trump to repudiate his own comments on Russia, the alleged election hacking, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial of any meddling. During a press conference in Helsinki, Trump said that didn’t quite believe the assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies that Putin’s government actually interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
Here were his comments:
US President Donald Trump sides with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the US intelligence community https://t.co/xcxobZCnN8 pic.twitter.com/6u5RKQADAT
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 17, 2018
That, as you know, set off a firestorm. Even supporters of the President were critical of his remarks. Just now, Trump actually clarified his comments, making it clear that he believes the verdict by the U.S.’s various intelligence agencies that Russia did interfere in the election.
Take a look:
BREAKING: Trump says ‘I accept’ US intelligence agencies conclusions on Russian meddling.
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) July 17, 2018
After Trump issued a rare reversal, things got really weird:
WATCH: Lights in White House go out as Pres. Trump says he has “full faith and support for America’s intelligence agencies.”
“Oops, they just turned off the light. That must be the intelligence agencies.” https://t.co/1CmKWam03G pic.twitter.com/w2aGMnjpxS
— ABC News (@ABC) July 17, 2018
We’re not sure how the lights got turned off, but, regardless, it was good that Trump clarified his point. Trump’s original comments couldn’t go on as stated without some kind of explanation. Even Newt Gingrich, an ardent Trump supporter, encouraged the President to take back his comments. (RELATED: Newt Sounds The Alarm: Trump’s Botched Putin Summit ‘Most Serious Mistake Of His Presidency’.)
With Trump contradicting his original comments, let’s hope we can move past this whole thing. After all, they were just words. Trump’s trying to smooth out relations with the leader of the only country on earth that can vanquish us with a couple of nuclear bombs.
So let’s move on to greater issues, shall we?
