President Donald Trump “basically saying” he accepts Russian President Vladimir Putin at his word on election interference is “remarkable and remarkably bad,” Representative Adam Schiff said Monday, Newsmax reports.
“Here you have the president of the United States meeting with a foreign adversary basically saying, ‘I not only accept Mr. Putin at his word, but it’s insulting to Mr. Putin to raise these things,’” the California Democrat said.
While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump called former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, along with former FBI Director James Comey “political hacks.” Newsmax notes.
“It is really unthinkable, and while this does some more damage to the intelligence community, it mostly damages the president himself. It impeaches his own credibility. People know director Clapper, director Brannan, and have enormous confidence and faith in them within the intelligence community and out. We now have a situation where the president of the United States says ‘Well, I raised the Russian meddling issue during the meeting,’ and they’re saying, “No, he didn’t.”” Schiff added.
The White House also is saying that Trump raised the matter of human rights abuses with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, but officials from there said that also did not happen, Newsmax writes. According to Schiff, “people around the world, U.S. allies and foes alike, don’t know whether they can believe Trump’s word” and that “this is something that he’s brought on himself.”
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