Sounded like two former KGB officers up their on stage at Helsinki. Trump was preaching the Russian party line during the whole press conference. Trump was the puppet and Putin was the ventriloquist. I didn't even see Putin lips move that is how good he was.
"My second question is woud you now, with the whole world watching, tell President Putin, would you denounce what happened in 2016 and would you warn him to never do it again?"
What was the questionner expecting ? That President Trump, "with the whole world watching", scold Vladimir Puttin, the President of the Russian Federation ?
The questionner apparently (unconsciously ?) wanted that "one gladiator bites the dust", either Vladimir Puttin being scolded with everyone watching, or President Trump looking too shy to "lay down the law".
Without delving into the merits of the case for Russian meddling into the 2016 elections, I would like to give an interpretation of a historical meeting between two leaders over two centuries ago.
In 1808 Emperor Napoleon met Emperor Alexader I on the Niemen. They signed a peace treaty, and Napoleon, probably felt at the time on "the top of the world". However if one looks at paintings of the time, they show a "bear hug" between the rather tall Tsar and the rather slight Napoleon. And even though Napoleon was the best commander at the time, and that Alexander had few military credentials (fleeing the battlefield at Austerlitz; I may however be wrong about this ?), the body language shows that the Tsar, confident of his safety in St-Petersburg and Moscow, has the dominant attitude. I would venture that this "bear hug" was a factor in Napoleon's later decision to invade Russia in 1812.
Leaders must be able to "absord some drubbing"
Yep, and the American people (if only a minority of them) got one word wrong: "Trump" instead of "Clinton."
1
The notorious comment during Trump's reply to a reporter must be looked at within the entire context of the press conference. In addition, what I found enlightening were the visuals. First, Trump crowed that within 4 hours our relationship with Russia had been transformed. Also, Putin was not an "adversary" but a "competitor." Then we have Trump's response to a reporter, that his intelligence agencies had told him about meddling, but here was Putin and Trump could see no reason why Russia would have meddled. Indeed, Putin was forceful in his denial of meddling, said Trump. Why would Trump undermine these assurances that everything was so friendly all of a sudden, and Putin so forthright, by then accusing Russia of election meddling? And, then, astonishingly to top it off, Trump praises Putin's suggestion that Russia put a fox in the henhouse, raising his voice, fluttering his eyes, basically suggesting to the world that the reporter was asking a dumb question. Am I reading too much into this? I don't think so. We humans base much of our intuitive understanding of other people not on their words only but on their body language, facial expressions and tone of voice. Trump was not lying at the press conference. He did not make a mistake. He meant what he said.
Yes, Donald Trump did get only one word wrong That was when he said "I am a decent person". He was wrong about "decent". Yes he got only one word wrong when he said "I am telling the truth". He was wrong about "truth". Yes he got only one word wrong when he said "I did not sleep with that woman". He was wrong about "not". Yes, he got only one word wrong when he said " I am not a bigot". He was again wrong about "not". And yes he was wrong when he said "I have a lot of respect for women". He was wrong about "respect". And he was certainly wrong when he said "I will make America Great Again". He was wrong about "Great". He meant to say "Grate".
1
We got regime change in Iraq as planned - that yellow cake went down well. We destroyed Libya and Syria and made Afghanistan and Somalia ungovernable. Iran is next and then the big prize: Russia. Liberal interventionism works - aided by the neoconservative wisdom. Democracy has been spread and the people are happy. And our liberal paper has led the way in this heroic struggle. Thanks a million!
What if the word he used had been "wouldn't"? Then the sentence would seem then to endorse cyber attacks on elections. This is a no-win sentence either way.
1
One word is enough for this pathological liar.
What the WH needs to do is to provide an interpretor for when Trump speaks English to the American public. This interpretor can immediately reinterpret Mr. Trump. When Trump says “yes”, the interpretor can immediately translate it to “no” etc.
2
Phony, phony.
Fake, Fake Fake...
This guy's a a liar on the take.
I would say it but I wouldn't really
mean it....
2
The fifth-grader reading a note from his mother explaining why he doesn’t have his homework is still the best analogy for Trump reading a prepared statement.
“Dear America,
Please excuse Donny for not using “not” in his sentence. His dog Sparky ate it. It made Sparky sick and we had to take him to the vet. He is the best vet. And I know that Donny really meant to say “not” because he uses the word all the time. I have personally been there in the room and heard him say it - many times. Many, many times. Over and over again. Donny has the best words and “not” is one of them. “Amazing” is another. So you see it is inconceivable that Donny did not not use not. He is the best president - really, really intelligent, super smart.
Super Sincerely,
Mrs. Trump
3
EVERY patriotic American should feel violated and disturbed by Trump.
3
Looks like an open and shut case to me: why don't you NYT take a quick poll?
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.
-Winston Churchill
4
A quick correction just came in from President Trump in a moment of rare candor:
"I meant to say that I want to seem that I am supporting the intelligence community so that Americans won't despise and/or impeach me, but I am required to say that I believe Putin, because that was the deal we made. They manipulated the election and installed me in exchange for excusing my many debts. I certainly colluded, but I needed plausible deniability so I sent my surrogates including my son to meetings. That's the core issue of my presidency. Everything else is a distraction, and luckily for me, the media and public keep jumping every time I tweet. Tomorrow I'm planning to tweet that Rosa Parks was a Communist agent, and of European descent. That should buy me a few days."
6
You really want me to decide what’s right based on responses to reporters’ self-aggrandizing loaded gotcha questions? Food fights are far easier to glean anything factually digestible from. Media frenzy is as useful and fish flopping around in a shallow pond as far as seeing what’s on the bottom goes.
1
Baloney. Military generals most forgot about are coming out saying this administration needs an intervention.
1
WHAT MATTERS IS How Trump upholds the words in his Oath of Office, not how many words he says he got wrong with Putin. It is my contention that Trump engaged in collusion with Putin during his false statements he made on TV. That Putin giggled when asked whether he was aware of Trump's business activities says it all. Were it the case that, as Putin claimed, Trump was just one of many foreigners doing business in Russia, he would have made the statement without emotion. The fact that the question triggered a strong emotional response in the form of giggling is evidence that Putin was lying, that he knew Trump and that he knew that Trump was having the Russians launder money for him. That's my theory about Putin's motivation. But I think the remark that carried the day was made by former US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, who said that she refers to Trump as Putin's gift that keeps on giving. She hit a bullseye with that one! You go Madeline!
3
This article is nice, but no one with an opinion on this matter is ignorant of the many times Trump has disparaged U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI NOT(!) just on the issue of any collusion, but on the much clearer matter of Russia's election meddling. Perhaps a person's individual belief in the EFFECTIVENESS of Russia's meddling may vary with political leanings, but the underlying facts are not in serious debate.
Again, putting aside any suspicions of collusion for now, it is laughably clear that Trump keeps cycling back to denying the fact of Russia's meddling for the same reason coal companies deny climate change or tobacco companies denied smoking-related lung cancer. Trump was and continues to be the beneficiary of Russia's intelligence operations in the U.S. during the last presidential election. That's a very bitter pill to swallow, especially to someone with demonstrable delusions about his superiority in literally all things. He considers the assertion of any facts running counter to that delusion as "fake" and those asserting them as members of a deep state (and invariably liberal) cabal that has gained control of virtually every aspect of U.S. intelligence agencies, law enforcement, all global media outside of Fox/InfoWars/RT, the White House staff, administrative agencies, Congress and the courts.
Trump's denial of any and all negative information as it relates to him (even the weather on his inauguration day) is his standard procedure.
1
This beggars belief. IF Mr. Trump got one word wrong, why did it take him more than a day to correct himself? We all misspeak, but most of us correct ourselves immediately. No, Mr. Trump meant what he said, either out of deference to or fear of Mr. Putin. Only when he returned to the US and learned of the response of millions of Americans did he make this weak case for misspeaking.
He needs to be neutralized and the best way to do that is by voting out complicit and compliant Republicans in November and replacing them with true patriots, Democrats who value our Constitution and our commitment to our allies.
3
We used to call misstatements like this a "Freudian slip." It's when you accidentally say what you really mean instead of saying what you think the listener will buy. Trump's Freudian slip was definitely showing.
2
Name one characteristic of his that is good enough for him to hold an entry level federal job. Just one. You can't come up with it, right? Every trait of his would not be tolerated in any lawful job. Why should we support the salary of such a guy and such an administration?
3
Lots of foolish and crazy talk that has many Americans now convinced that Trump is being blackmailed by the Kremlin.
But not enough is being made of this:
Putin "offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people. I think that’s an incredible offer."
Craziest idea ever. And a glaring example of just how incompetent Trump is after claiming he'd been preparing for the meeting all his life.
2
Russia's interference in the election, including the hacking and release of the DNC/Podesta emails, was actually traced by US intelligence agencies directly to Russian Government sources and Russian operatives names were named in the last Mueller indictment. How can Trump even question the US intelligence community's unanimous conclusions at this stage in favor of Putin's denials? Solid evidence from our side versus no evidence on Putin's side. The possibility that other foreign agents may have also tried to interfere with the election (Trump's repeated comeback) is wholly irrelevant to the fact that Russia actually succeeded in interfering in the 2016 election on his behalf and that we traced it back to them.
Trump's "would/wouldn't" intended "clarification" of his remarks (over 24 hours after the summit) is a laughable exercise in spinning and lying, Trump's trademarks. His spoken words, and the video of the Trump/Putin press conference itself, totally negates any actual intent by Trump to publicly criticize Putin, who was standing next to him at the podium. It was a love-in and it was obvious to all.
The only obvious conclusions at this point is that Trump cannot be trusted to look out for US national security interests versus Russia and that there are compelling reasons (including Trump following Putin's disruptive playbook regarding NATO and US relations with its allies) to believe that Trump collusion with Putin is real and ongoing.
1
Many have decided, the media is out to get Trump no matter what and it will take some policy ideas and a miracle for his base to believe anything else.
If the economy stay strong and the US gets some trade concessions, some who dislike him but love their 401K's, will stay with him.
Some things are more important than keeping the trains running on time and the lights on. I doubt we are getting any trade concessions anytime soon when Trump keeps slapping tariffs on allies and foes alike. We will get hit with an economic recession before his first term is up.
1
Boys and Girls Your Attention Please!
Here is a little history lesson: Back in the 1940s when a tyrant was trying to rule the world, there was an unpopular, but elected leader in Norway named Vidkun Quisling. He decided to take sides with Hitler and surrendered Norway to the Germans. This was not taken to kindly, but his countrymen and women. His pro-Nazi collaborationist government participated in genocidal atrocities of Nazi Germany.
After the war Quisling was put on trial and found guilty of charges including embezzlement, murder and high treason against the Norwegian state, and was sentenced to death He was executed by firing squad in Oslo, on 24 October 1945.
Old Vidkun’s name lives on in history as the term “Quisling” now means “Quisling (/ˈkwɪzlɪŋ/; Norwegian pronunciation: [²kvisliŋ]) a term originating in Norway, which is used in Scandinavian, English and other languages for a person who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for traitor.”
You have ample reason to use this noun frequently in referring to Donald J. Trump, a unique coward in the annals of American history.
Lesson over.
6
Thank you! Well done!
2
Frankly, he got his whole life wrong.
2
I am color-blind and cannot use this article the way you likely intended. Is this available in any other format?
2
Trump was treasonous in real time in the Helsinki press conference. Nothing he can do or say can--or should--distract from this.
There Republican response to date is so weak as to be collaboration with treason. Unless and until they take the necessary steps to remove Trump, they are traitors themselves.
3
Come on guys, President Trump, just need to be send back to school so he could follow a course of English, first language.
1
"He speaks English as though it is a second language that he learned from someone who learned English last week. So, it is usually difficult to sift meanings from Trump’s word salads." George Will----------AMEN
1
Anyone who believes this explanation hit their head "falling off the turnip truck."
2
What he said as he stood next to Putin was exactly what he meant.
A liar, of course, but also a coward and a traitor.
"Unfit" doesn't begin to describe this vile creature.
4
Perhaps it's time that we demand a qualification to be President is the ability to speak English.
1
What is as disgusting as Trump is Mike Pence and his utter stupidity defending Trump and talking nonsense before Trump spoke yesterday in that embarrassingly stupid moment in history.
Any member of the Republican Party that all of the sudden changed their opinion of President Trump's siding with Putin and his selling out American interests based on that phony, hostage statement Trump was forced to read to try and do damage control, such as Marco Rubio, should re-sign and leave the government.
President Trump is a total embarrassment to every member of the Military, Federal Government and anyone who has served in any capacity or gave their lives for this country.
5
Trump showed his true colors in Helsinki.
Such belief in Putin makes him a Russian asset, a useful idiot or whatever you want to call him. He maybe gullible due to his own personal reasons or agenda, and thinks he can sell Putin’s con on us, but some Americans are not so gullible when they sense a traitor.
All this secrecy during the meeting is worrisome. Pretty soon we may have to start learning to speak Russian.
1
Trump has no respect for the American people. He patronizes us as if we are illiterate idiots, willing to swallow the most ridiculous explanations for statements he makes (omitting the "n't" was all he did) instead of owning up to his own self-serving rhetoric. Disingenuous, and untrustworthy.
3
I agree.
(N'T)rump has no respect for the American people.
3
Inserting a "n't" at the appropriate place really doesn't change anything in the entire string or arguments that Trump made to defend Russia and to blame the USA. But what it makes clear is that he is a coward in addition to a liar and a traitor.
5
I appreciate the NYT taking the bold (for the NYT) step of labeling Trump's statements as demonstrably false when that is the case, but inviting readers to "decide" whether something objectively occurred (as you do in the headline) is ridiculous. Trump said changing that word would somehow change the meaning of everything he said. That is not true. We don't get to decide that it isn't; we only get to decide what to do about it.
1
Diplomacy should not be left to unprepared amateurs - Trump was clearly over his head. In these situations, he seems to fall back to his campaign rhetoric (email servers and the like). Bumbling and idiotic (absolutely), treasonous (a bit of a reach). Before the summits between Reagan and Gorbachev, Reagan had that awkward "hot mike" moment, pretend announcing the nuclear annihilation of Russia and was very pointed in his criticism (evil empire and the like). The regime in Russia had a lot to answer for - treatment of Jews and other minorities, the gulag and other political repression, interfering in US and EU politics to slow down deployment of intermediate nukes etc. As I recall, the NYT was concerned that Reagan would take Gorbachev to task and squander the diplomatic opportunity. So I don't have a problem with Trump or any other president discussing areas where diplomacy can defuse disagreements and areas of mutual interest where cooperation is possible. The meeting in Helsinki was not the right place to browbeat Putin and, so long as sanctions remain in place, I think Russia gets the message. Also, selling US LNG to German in place of Russian gas and raising NATO spending (as Trump has proposed) increases the pressure on Putin - he won't be able to keep up just as USSR couldn't in the '80's.
Trump's claim that he got just the one word wrong is silly. He got just about everything wrong. He supported Putin and Russia, and disparaged America and our intelligence agencies. Clearly he did not want to fix even that one word. No doubt he will take the correction back in just a day or two, like Charlotte.
These folks have all agreed that the Russians interfered in order to help the Trump campaign: our intelligence community, Democratic lawmakers, most Republican lawmakers, Google, Facebook, members of the Trump administration whom Trump appointed, e.g., Mr. Pompeo, Mr. Coates.
Should we accept (no collusion!) the corrected statement, it would be (no collusion!) inconsistent with everything else Trump said at (no collusion!) the press conference. Moreover, nobody (no collusion!) would use a double as he claims: "I don't see why Russia wouldn't have interfered ..."
Trump's statements pertaining to Clinton are laughably false. Including the claim that Mr. Browder's associates gave her $400 million. The Republican advantage in the electoral college is an accepted fact on both sides of the aisle. Etc. Etc. Etc.
2
Is Trump lying? Of course he is. He could barely gut through his prepared statement about "wouldn't" yesterday and even then added that there could be lots of people involved. That part was off script and revealed more about his real feelings than the prepared statement that he clearly did not write. Even scarier though is the fact that most of us expect Republican leadership to do nothing. Their leader is a lying con man who is tearing this country and this country's reputation apart and they will meet expectations by doing nothing. Sadly, it is the American people who will pay for this massive and traitorous leadership by the President and his party.
3
Perhaps Putin has videos on them, too?
2
If you say "I don't" instead of "I do", the whole world changes. Interesting that when he was exonerating Putin, he was not reading from a paper, but his "spin" (which, I am sure was written by someone else) had to be read, and read as though he had a gun pointed at his temple. Then, at the end, he kinda negated the whole thing by reaffirming his belief that it could of been someone else, or many "someone elses". And Congress plods along on their diet of milquetoast.
1
My wife had the best comment on Don the Con. She said he is like a horse in a parade, with his handlers following him like the cleanup crew with shovels and buckets. And they are getting tired of all of all the shoveling and the buckets are overflowing.
2
Just a note regarding usability. As a color-blind subscriber, given the light weight of the text and the low saturation of the chosen "red," the red and black text in articles like this are indistinguishable. Another color scheme that accounts for those of us with color deficiency would be a nice upgrade. Thanks for the effort here, though!
3
It is clear from the Transcript that Trump uses English as a 2nd language. He clearly needed an interpreter to clarify the questions as none of his answers made any sense.
Let's all admit that the President of the US is illiterate.
3
I was 16 August 9, 1974 when Gerald Ford declared “our long national nightmare is over.” Time to delcare this one over too. This is so much worse than the Watergate burglary and second-rate cover-up. And Richard Nixon was far smarter than this guy.
1
He had a chance to correct himself, in his interview with Hannity, and he stood firm on what he meant. He is a pathological liar, has dementia, and narcissism. I was over that guy over 30 years ago. When I decide that someone has serious character flaws, it is over for me in having any respect for that person. Often, it has to do with how people either handle money, or whether they lie. That does it for me.
1
To anyone who pays a little attention to whom Donnie was before 2016 knows little has changed for the Carnival Barker who would be POTUS.
He is a serial liar and cheater, a professional hornswoggler and swindler, but his megalomaniac sense of self-grandeur is perhaps his greatest shortcoming. He will sell anyone, anything, and any country--even ours--out to promote his fragile ego.
He is a danger to everyone and everything this country stands for.
I do not have to read the content of the press conference. I saw it & heard it as it was being broadcast! I,also, saw Trump's attempt to make it all go away. I am not hypnotized nor do I take Trump or Putin at their words. They are both slimy liars. Putin is a dictator and Trump aspires to be one! Trump's behavior on the world stage should alarm everyone. He has broken treaties w/o reluctance or remorse. He deals in bad faith & only fools believe him. He is a childish, egotistical, insecure bully, as evidenced by his name-calling & wreaklessness with every move he makes. What I find shocking is that there are still people that hang on his every word & defend him no matter what! I feel as though I am in a continuous nightmare-& waiting for the monster to get me! Oh, would that that be true!
3
Shame on anyone who voted for this guy, shame on anyone who takes his word for anything, and shame on the GOP for empowering him.
3
Oh, horsehockey! He was "captured" yet again by various persons (Mitch McConnell, for example?) & told to make the retraction/correction. Michael Hayden, former DNI, has it right--it's as close to a "hostage-video" performance as any other has been. President Trump just can't focus upon the myriad of tasks & responsibilities of the Oval Office with so many obvious "hidden" things going on, whether it's Mueller's Investigation or Putin's comments behind closed doors. Trump is like the serial husband that's doing whatever he wants---like a 7th-grade-boy---and thinking he can always, somehow, some way, get out of the jam he puts himself in. Disgraceful.
3
The worst wrong word is "elected."
1
My concern with President "Our Man in D.C." is that one terrorist attack, will allow him and his Republicans enablers grounds to suspend the constitution in favor of martial law.
1
Not since the Quisling regime in Norway, prior to and during WWII, when it collaborated with Hitler's government, have we seen such a brazen and disgusting capitulation of a country's values, dignity and national interests.
What makes it worse, is that there is no strategic or economic reason for Trump to have done this. This is a total betrayal of the United States interests and honor in its relationship with Putin's government.
There are no excuses, no rationales, no extenuating circumstances that can justify Trump's denigration of our allies in Europe, while simultaneously kowtowing to Putin.
Either the GOP - led Congress takes action to remove Trump from power, or they are complicit in this treason. Period.
6
It now makes me physically sick to think that this individual is the American president.
3
"The New York Times"
"Opinion"
"Why Won’t Donald Trump Speak for America?"
"The president lays himself at Vladimir Putin’s feet."
"By The Editorial Board"
"The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section."
"July 16, 2018"
At: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/donald-trump-putin-russia.html
"Why Won't Donald Trump Speak For America?"
Because Donald J. Trump is in the picture before and after he became U.S. President.
President Trump supports the wrong Red, White and Blue.
5
@NYT
You can report on this until the cows come home.. 58% percent of this country will follow Trump anywhere.. facts do not matter..
I think it's only 58% of the Republicans, who make up less than half of the voting public, but I could be wrong. If I am right, though, that's 42% of the Republicans who are coming or have come to their senses, and let us say all of the Democrats and Independents who figured him out long ago.
Facts do matter to many people, including many NYT readers.
By the way, where does this 58% come from? He got 46% of votes cast on a 56% turnout, about 26% of eligible voters.
I read the first question and half of the rambling answer and that was too much to take. I don't need to keep reading to clarify that our so-called president is a liar and and imbecile.
The audacity of his "summit" and the following press conference confirmed for me that our country is doomed. How dare he bring us so disastrously to the brink? How dare the GOP respond so tepidly?
Exactly what does trump need to do to face opposition from his compliant and cowardly party? I'm actually afraid to even ask, because I know I'll lie awake tonight conjuring up the nightmarish scenarios.
If I believed in god, I'd say God help us, but I'm afraid that's not an option.
2
How can an anyone doubt that Mr. Emoluments & his grifters are more than willing to sell out American democracy for personal gain? Senator Jeff Flake (R): “I never thought I would see the day when our American president would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression.” He blames America's intelligence agencies & Justice Department headed by his appointees. George Will aptly referred to Mr. Emoluments as "this sad, embarrassing wreck of a man”.
1
I understand that Trump worked on his get-out-of-jail card with his advisors. Shoulda or shouldn'ta? This is a mark of the low opinion they have of the Trump base, assuming that such a ploy would satisfy them. Even Bart Simpson wouldn't be so stupid! Still, this is another of those times when shooting someone on Fifth Avenue has no consequences for Trump. Roe V Wade has not yet been reversed. The tax cuts are not yet permanent. "Entitlements" have not yet been gutted. Many have sold their souls, and not even to gain the whole world!
2
Trump has disparaged the notion of Russia hacking the election since he was a candidate. So the day after he does the same thing on foreign soil standing next to Putin, it turns out he did believe it was Russia? Please.
This was Trump doing another "hostage video," reading something he doesn't agree with because his staff knows how bad it looks. Give him a day or two.
What's amazing his how the "better dead than red!" Republicans are letting Putin off the hook. Why? Is Trump really worth it? Because you will go down with him. As for Trump himself, he is either a Russian stooge or someone who is too stupid to realize he looks like one. Which is worse?
I read this sickening transcript in detail, and now it's even clearer that Trump is a lying, sleazy, compromised puppet who is way, way out if his league with a slick manipulator like Putin pulling his strings. When this is all over, we need to pass a whole slew of laws in this country so we never have to endure this threat to our Democracy again. Expanded iron-clad voting rights, no electoral college, etc. Meanwhile, this is a crisis, and Trump should be impeached.
1
He used only negative words for American Intelligence --he called it foolish, a witch hunt, and said there was no collusion and "everyone" knew it. All lies. His track record is to lie. His team worked overtime on Contraction Gate transcript he read like a hostage-a lunatic's excuse.
1
I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be? Are you joking? Who speaks in double negative? I see every reason why it would be. This is what he should have said but didn't because he meant it's not Russia and he said it. Anything else is a lie...................
2
I meant 'unstable'...
"... decide for yourself what he really thinks."
He doesn't really think. He babbles.
The emperor's brain has no clothes.
3
ASK TRUMP FOR A SINGLE WORD And you get a slurry of self-serving, slimy garbage. He admits only to mistaking a single word when he slings huge gobs of verbal manure in his rambling nonsense. Trump lies constantly, as indicated by his consistent pattern of deflecting blame or even responsibility away from himself. Everything is somebody else's fault. What that says writ large is that there is a power vacuum of leadership in the Executive branch. The behavior that Trump exhibits suggests strongly that he has severe cognitive deficits in many areas. So we are supposed to be the sole remaining superpower led by a person who, in addition to his multitudinous severe character flaws, accepts no responsibility for leadership. Yet he says that the US has gotten lousy deals and he's the only one who can get us better deals. So far TRUMP IS the lousiest deal the US has ever had at the top. He can't think, he can't listen, he can't understand, he can't write, he can't solve problems. But none of that matters, since everything is someone else's fault. Such patterns of behavior are typical of persons suffering from dementia, as they are unable to perceive their deficits and, not surprisingly, blame others for their severely limited cognitive functioning. We must look beyond the war of words to study what part the brain plays in this mess that could lead to the unraveling of the US. Yes, that's the level of threat Trump poses to Homeland Security. Invoke amendement 26 NOW!
2
It doesn't matter. We know he is a liar and he has more interest in Putin than he has in the US interests.
Let's just get rid of him. He's got no more integrity than a local mob boss. Everything in his life is calculated in terms of his personal gain.
At this point it really doesn't matter why he is supporting the Russians or why he exhibits pathological behavior consistent with mental disorders.
The bottom line is he is an incompetent, inappropriate and disastrous president.
He is so averse to anything that might involve work, study, effort of any kind that he refuses to even read what his advisers have prepared for him.
He's becoming a joke all over the world and endangering the very national security of our country. He has to go. Soon. This cannot go on.
Donald Trump is an imminent threat to the national security of the United States of America.
1
I don't not disbelieve these backtracking statements. Trump is either: a) a traitor; b) mentally unstable; or c) a complete imbecile. None of these options are traits you want in a President who is sworn to defend the country and the constitution. His foot-in-mouth crisis team (aka WH staff) can spin this six ways to Sunday, it doesn't change the fact that Trump all but kissed the feet of Putin on a public stage (we will never know what Trump did in private) while trashing Americans and their institutions.
2
One thing is very, very clear. Trump's sentences often make no sense. The syntax is off. He's unable or unwilling to make the necessary statements to establish our position(s) or what the facts are on anything. The GOP has complained about politically correct speech from the Democrats. What I see here is doublespeak, negative positive speak, and worse, a complete lack of facts. I see a failed businessman and an incompetent president trying to convince everyone that his bluffing is good enough to pass for knowledge.
Trump's presidency (and the GOP) get an F and it's not for fantastic, for their grade since the inauguration. The other thing which stands out is how little the GOP cares about America. They want to destroy the lives of working Americans in order to satisfy their rich donors. And George W. Bush, for all his mangling of the English language, would not have said what Trump said: that he believed Putin over our own intelligence agencies.
7
This would be like a criminal coming up before the judge for sentencing. Given his chance for some final words before the pronouncement, the perpetrator says: Judge, I did only one thing wrong. At the time of the plea, I said I'm guilty. It was a slip of the tongue. I meant to say I'm NOT guilty. Let's start the case all over again.
9
“President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial,” while Trump is extremely weak and feeble in his.
Changing a “would” to a “wouldn't” does nothing about “I hold both countries responsible” or “I have confidence in both parties,” and _still_ he tries to equivocate by adding “could be other people also - a lot of people out there,” such as “somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?”
So: Trump has made no progress in connecting with the truth over the last two years (or indeed over the last 72 years).
8
Is it "won"? Is that the word he got wrong? As in, "I won the election"? As opposed to "I stole the election", or, "I rigged the election", or, "I lost the election".
7
Everything Trump says is projection. When he said, "I have Putin" he meant, "Putin has me."
9
Of course, Trump is lying about misspeaking. He only backtracked when he learned of the backlash his denial of Russian collusion caused, even among cowardly Republicans. Hope that's the nail in his coffin for the Mueller team.
5
Yeah. Reports are he was up all night, miserable and horrified that Fox and Friends, Newt Gingrich, and many others gave him an F in foreign policy.
The bags under his eyes attest to that. Many thought he was up all night in sustained rage. Accusations of treason are hard to promote rest. That hashtag on Twitter had so many responses, my computer gave up when 9,000 new tweets wanted onboard.
Spinning the President's mouth fumbles and ignorance of diplomacy has to be a very stressful job. The person who said "what if we say he meant to say wouldn't" deserves some sort of award just for sheer hubris.
7
This piece on Trump's do-over is a bit of a do-over for The Times, as your initial story said he walked the comments back without noting that he then immediately equivocated.
Whcih was awfully bad reporting.
There were 3 writers on that story, plus presumably an editor. Or 2.
I have no idea why they gave all him a pass, but thanks for somewhat clarifying the record. Sort of.
1
"This piece on Trump's do-over is a bit of a do-over for The Times, as your initial story said he walked the comments back without noting that he then immediately equivocated. Which was awfully bad reporting."
Maybe we're looking at different pieces; but the nytimes.com top story currently does say that, and indeed that point is highlighted in the lede on the nytimes.com front page (although apparently not the paper edition front page https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/07/18/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf ).
Besieged Trump Says He Misspoke on Russia
Reading Script, He Says He Accepts U.S. Reports on Meddling
By MARK LANDLER and MAGGIE HABERMAN
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/world/europe/trump-putin-summit.html
... Even as he walked back his remarks, Mr. Trump repeated his assertion that there was no evidence of collusion between his campaign and the Russians. That line was scribbled in black marker onto a typewritten sheet of remarks on the table before him.
And he also seemed to undercut his own assertion that he had accepted the findings of Russian involvement.
“Could be other people also,” Mr. Trump said, appearing to ad-lib. “A lot of people out there.”
That echoed his previous musings that the interference could have been carried out by China, a guy from New Jersey or “somebody sitting on their bed who weighs 400 pounds.”
Double negative? Really? So absurd. And the greater absurdity is that many continue to believe and support his every word. How can so many with so much be so miserable?
8
Trump claims to have gotten “ one word wrong.” The most obvious explanation is he was told he was in the deepest trouble of his presidency, was given a prepared statement to read ( which he revised to his liking) and didn’t bother to either read the transcript or watch the footage of his despicable performance.
But do we expect anything else from this ill-prepared, lazy,” stable genius?”
When will the adults step in and enact legislation to protect this country from his “ greatness?”
9
TRUMP: The probe is a disaster for our country. I think it’s kept us apart, it’s kept us separated. There was no collusion at all. Everybody knows it.
--- This was printed in black. Is black the new orange?
3
Trump is doing exactly what he was doing 500 days ago...
The real question. The only question is why it should be that half this country's citizens cosigns his treason, and the rest can't get it together to hold him accountable.
11
24 hours later, with pressure from his supporters, he comes up with this misspoken excuse. Oy Vey. He certainly does not respect the intelligence of the American people, thinking we are all low IQ--it's like adding insult to injury. Forgive him not for his cover-up lie.
8
Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution:
'Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.'
18 USC § 2381 of the United States Code:
'Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.'
Donald John Trump, owing allegiance to the United States, you have adhered to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, tyrant, despot and murderer, cruel controller of the Russian Federation and its subject peoples, giving said tyrant aid and comfort within the United States and elsewhere.
Therefore, you are guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
9
He lies, then he lies to cover the first lie, and then he lies again to cover the cover-up of the first lie. He can't tell the same story twice.
9
He may argue he got one word wrong - but that is refuted by not only all of his other comments during the press conference, and especially by his interview by Hannity the same evening. I sense a uniform tone to all of it - and changing his one word would in fact be a glaring exception.
7
Hmm...
I found it necessary to re-read the President's answers more than once, certainly not in admiration, but because it was hard for me to make sense of his arguments and of his train of thoughts. This country deserves better than that from a president!
8
I am beyond parsing what Mr. Trump says or claims to have said or not said. It doesn't matter as I exhausted my cringe reflexes several months ago. I note, also, that Trump supporters/voters continue to stand by him, unwavering in support and loyalty. This doesn't matter either as anyone ill-informed enough to vote for someone so obviously unfit for the office in the first place is probably not one for critical thinking . . . some people, including Mr. Trump, who has yet to rise to the occasion, are simply beyond reach.
5
Note to media. Do not let trump off the hook. Continually remind your readers and viewers that the allegiance of the so-called president is to Russia. So many outrages emanate from the WH and congress, that the truth of what happened in Helsinki will soon be forgotten, overshadowed by new ones. Keep this story fresh so that voters will remember in November. It is a sad, sad truth that many Americans don't care, but many of us do care and refuse to have a traitor as president and senators and congressmen and women who support him.
5
Trump's power is in, which he knows very well, the lie. He may realize the truth, but for the sake of self and power he'll persist with the lie. Demonstrating his lie goes nowhere. Most of us know the lie Trump re-presents in his very self; but none of us seems to know what to do about it ... except complain which only fuels the lie. The question becomes, I think, Can we go our own way in good faith for the sake of the country's good, ignoring Trump completely? In this respect, midterm elections are coming soon.
2
I read an opinion piece somewhere else that reminded us that Trump is first and foremost a narcissist. As such, he craves the adulation of the public - he has no sense of self without it. Anytime he finds out that something he says or does is widely unpopular, he does a 180. Now, one could argue that pretty much everything he says and does is hateful, but it's when even the Republicans - the ones who are supposed to adore him, in his mind--react strongly that he backs down, as he did with the separated migrant children. He needs the approval and the adoration, and will do or say anything to preserve it.
6
Trump also craves the adulation of strongmen, the "strongest" of whom in his warped view is Vladimir Putin. To get it, Trump has committed treason in front of the entire world.
1
This exercise is the White House's contempt for the intelligence of most of the American people was not a clarification, it was a modification.
4
One misspoke contraction, or not, if this doesn't demonstrate his love of Putin, it certainly demonstrates that he doesn't have the character, poise, temperament, or general common sense needed to lead this country. He will NEVER fully accept that anyone meddled in the election, besides 'illegal' voters, because it further reinforces that he didn't actually win the popular vote in 2016. Even here, he is still talking about the election. It's so pathetic - we deserve better.
3
There should be a public discussion about how we can prevent a situation like this in the future where an incompetent, dangerous individual gains the presidency along with majorities in both houses of congress. The Constitution has a vulnerability when the majority party refuses to act to remove a dangerously incompetent president.
The stakes are too high to simply shrug and say that's the way it is. I'm not sure what the best solution would be but surely there has to be a way.
We are facing 2 1/2 more years of this nonsense and already the president has allied with our enemy, abused our allies in the EU, in NATO and in the UK, and has started a trade war that could spin out of control and cost the world an incalculably costly sum, and even a financial crisis in the for of a major recession.
This is total nonsense.
We need to fix this situation so it can't happen again. The majority in the country should have a mechanism to recall or reject a catastrophically incompetent president when his party controls the Congress and refuses to act.
6
When Trump said that he could stand on Fifth Avenue in NYC, shoot someone and his supporters would still be with him it wasn’t an exaggeration but an ugly truth.
The scary extension of that remark is that if Trump is cornered by
Mueller, will he call out his supporters to take to the streets to keep him in power by any means necessary?
What happened on Monday in Helsinki and the fallout of Trump’s blown attempt to explain the impossible with a double negative is unlikely to shake the confidence of his base along with the enablers in the GOP..
With Robert Mueller coming after him in the near future, Trump’s self preservation instinct will take precedence over his country and at that point, a call to his followerers to take to the streets in a show of violent protest shouldn’t be discounted.
3
"Food for Thought", Friday, April 15, 2016.
Incredible Inactive Lifestyle
Maybe I said "I do nothing".
"I don't do nothing" doesn't make sense.
However, it does make sense if it is called a Double Negative or a Figure of Speech as in Litotes.
There is what Trump says, and there is what he does and he has just spent 2 hours of alone time with the man who put him in power, despite all advice to do otherwise. He kowtows to Putin routinely and has clearly been doing his bidding by sabotaging NATO to pushing crippling debt on the US though military buildup and corporate giveaways. We've had enough of Trump's caustic words, lies and tweets. It's time to take the keys and the codes away from this greedy con-man traitor, once and for all.
5
Sorry, to all my friends and family in the US living through this. The political theatre in the states is officially a tragicomedy. I can see people in my minds eye alternately laughing at the buffoonery and crying at what is happening to a once great nation. If this is not stopped in November, then the United States of America may never recover. Sad!
1
Trump in Helsinki said exactly what he meant to say. He did not misspeak. He even emphasized "would" very clearly. Furthermore, only "would" has a meaning consistent with the rest of his shameful remark.
2
Once a liar, always a liar. Mueller did not get 32 indictments willy-nilly. He got them because where there is smoke, there is fire.
There was no mistaken what Trump said. He just did not expect some of the Republicans to speak out against him.
Trump is not a Patriot or a defender of the United States. He went to Russia and defended Putin against Americans. Is this Trump's way of making "America Great Again".
In my book he has put America in great danger. In fact, when he uses the statement "Make America Great Again". he forgets how many America's there are . But then, geography and history are not his strong suits.
If any other President, Republican or Democrat, behaved the way Trump has behaved, Congress would be starting Impeachment proceedings as I type.
And also moving to protect Mueller's investigation. Why isn't this happening?
Trump has proven over and over that he is no friend to our Constitution, which he swore to uphold. In fact, the way Congress has acted they could be accused of collusion, as they are not holding up to the oath of office that they took when they were sworn into office.
Who stands for us in this Country? Not Trump, not Congress and not five members of the Supreme Court.
And we have to wait until November to try and change this. Maybe a new Congress will rid us of Trump and his Administration. Or just maybe Mueller, within the next few weeks, will do the job.
I can only hope.
3
We'll never know how many words Trump "got wrong" in his two hours of private conversation with Putin. Yes, you can have Alaska. Oh, I meant, yes, you can't have Alaska. Who knows what he promised? I just hope they are things he can't actually do.
4
The President's corrected syntax just doesn't fit.
It is too easy to believe that he really believes, and meant to say, that he didn't see any reason they would have interfered.
And if in his heart of hearts he really believes or knows they would have a reason to interfere, and that he was only being diplomatic out of courtesy to his host, then he really did intend to say, literally, that he didn't see any reason they would have interfered.
The way he attempts to rephrase it just would not fit, in the actual conversation. An outright contradiction of Putin to his face. Pullease!
2
I think the Democrats should ease down and understand that the Democratic Party even in alliance with Republicans cannot win a deadly fight with either Russia or China. Dialogue with both and several others are the only road to find a good path for the future world. I do not think Trump will find that path. But the paths that his predecessors followed in about 28 years has produced millions of innocents death and and many millon more refugees and uncontrollable migration and created a lot of poverty. Their politics have nearly succeded in making the rest of the world their enemy.
Words on paper or not enough to reflect the total context what someone says. To read something on paper without the emphasis or tone of the speaker available leads to possible ambiguous meanings. To watch Trump during press conference there is no reason to believe That he did not say it working intended to say. To watch the two men walk to the podium is to see him smiling and confident on Trump side of the check like you’ve just been taken to the woodshed.
Mr. Trump's profound psychological and behavioral problems are so utterly transparent as to be almost uninteresting. Even when he is compelled by aides to read from a prepared statement ("would" versus "wouldn't") that attempts to pull the wool over our collective eyes, Mr. Trump cannot do it with a straight face.
Personally I appreciate what the editorial board is trying to do in this commentary.
Perhaps as an addendum, your reporters could prepare an article citing recommendations from child and adult psychiatrists on how we, the American public at large, should respond to Mr. Trump (voting in the midterms aside) -- if at all.
Meantime, Dan Coats should resign as DNI. Why he has not already is a mystery to me.
13
There should be no mulligans in diplomacy. This is why diplomats prepare. Words matter.
34
This overview leaves out a crucial part of the full transcript.
After telling the world that he doesn't see any reason why Russia would have wanted to interfere in US elections even though all America's intelligence agencies have proven the opposite, Trump later on is asked again about this issue, which gives him the opportunity to clarify his previous statement (the "why would they?" statement).
Here's what he said:
"So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today."
So here you have a situation where a US President's own Sec. of Treasury has already imposed sanctions on Russia because of the interference in the elections, and where ALL US intelligence agencies and both political parties in Congress have "strongly and powerfully" not merely claimed but proven that there has indeed been interference ... and all that Trump has to say is that ... he's very impressed by mere words of a former KGB agent and today official US foe, and sees no reason to doubt these words.
And now neither he nor his administration nor his own political party can even come up with a serious explanation to try to spin this in such a way that it hides the fact that when having to look a US enemy in the eye and standing right next to him, Trump completely forgets about his "America First" slogan, and adopts the weakest possible position.
They just make him read a senseless note and that's it...?!
23
To me, a Norwegian, US Intelleigence hithertoo has proved nothing about either Russsian Interference, MH17 or chemichal attacks by Assad in Syria, despite miles and miles of claims about such proofs. I am not a Trump follower. But the American people chose him because they did not like the constant insurgences and wars of his predecessors and the total lack of taking care of Americans in their efforts to "globalize" world economy under their superority.
A critical part of Mr. Trump's comments seems to be escaping attention. He stated: "We should’ve had this dialogue a long time ago; a long time, frankly, before I got to office."
Exactly what dialogue is he talking about? His predecessors also met with the heads of Russia's government, so Trump must be talking about substantive content, not just the fact of meeting. But we don't know the substantive content of the Trump-Putin "dialogue", because Trump wasn't asked, Trump hasn't told us, and there were no other American officials in the room.
Trump walked out of a similarly secretive meeting with Kim Jong-Un and unilaterally terminated our joint military exercises with South Korea. Will similar shocks emerge from the "dialogue" in Helsinki that Trump thinks was overdue?
While lots of well-merited attention is being given to what Trump failed to do (stand up to Russia and defend the US as required by his oath of office), we must also focus attention on what Trump did do during that secretive two-hour "dialogue" with Putin.
15
Other perceptive people have also commented here on Trump's clearly observable behavior that reflects a dangerous mental (behavioral) disorder. The self-contradictions alone are prime evidence. Three criteria raise behavior from an occasional, normal level to pathological: duration, frequency and intensity. Trump's behavior, the self-contradictions and outright lying in particular, meets all three criteria. Someone once said that it's no surprise that we see a circus going on when there are so many clowns, as well as one person who is clownish over a long period of time, often, and about actually very serious matters. Typically, pathological behavior such as demonstrated here is best managed through behavioral quarantine, either incarceration because of this type of person's tendency to commit crimes or very careful psychiatric/psychological monitoring (if involuntary commitment cannot be maintained because it isn't demonstrated as "medically necessary," i.e., insurance won't pay for it). I hope to live to see some type of quarantine or containment to protect and save us from Trump.
8
The word Trump continues to get wrong is "collusion", because collusion is technically not a crime. The correct word is "conspiracy". As in the crime of "Conspiracy to defraud the United States government".
17
I look at the photo on the front page of today's New York Times, and see Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin shaking hands. I look at their faces and here is what I see them thinking. Mr. Trump, eyebrows raised, looking straight at Mr. Putin: "OK, so did I cover everything as you wished?" Mr. Putin, head lowered and glowering a bit: "We have been so successful in compromising this man, maybe too successful. Now, what do I do with this loose cannon?" Mr. Putin may be beginning to see the unintended consequences of controlling Mr. Trump - a pushback from America that will undo all his malignant efforts to undo the West and destroy democracy.
Our President has been slowly self-destructing himself since his election. In the process he has caused us great damage, and has betrayed America. His total focus on protecting himself at the country's cost reveals a man with no moral center and undoubtedly concealing countless misdeeds.
We should expect his actions to become more outrageous the closer we get to learning of all those deeds. I hope our institutions stand firm, and bring us out of this nightmare.
19
The thing about the President is that he contradicts himself multiple times in non complete sentences with grammatical mistakes that make it extremely hard to sometimes discern what exactly he is saying, as well as to how many times he is lying. ( I think we are up to about 4000 documented lies already )
We also know that, even if he doesn't contradict himself right then and there, that it could be in a further statement (to ''clarify''), or tweet where he rails about not only what he said, but incredulously, what he has officially signed.
He has simply learned a long time ago that the press cannot hold him down (rare to) to any one position - let alone republicans who voted for a candidate that was supposedly against them a short time ago with a multitude of major positions.
It is not that he got only one word wrong, but Americans (let alone the world - except for Russia it seems ) does not take anything he says for granted, because it can change at a moment's notice.
That instability is exactly what he and his backers want.
17
The real things are (a) he is one of them and he "gets" them; (b) he's spearheading the most vicious attack on civil rights, the social safety net, and the underpinnings of the Union. They've made a deal with the Devil.
1
Watching the press conference in Helsinki, I concluded the President of the United States had no intention of conducting foreign policy in the interests of our country, but in his own interests and the interests of President Putin. Though it is the president’s job to have foreign policy engagement, President Trump abused those powers. In my view, denouncing the US intelligence agencies and the US Department of Justice - institutions that keep Americans safe and uphold the rule of law - were a betrayal of the Constitution and the democratic values all Americans cherish. The only Branch of government that can check Mr. Trump’s abuses of power and betrayal is Congress, and the majority of Republicans seem disinterested in defending the Constitution, the rule of law, American values, and this nation. I was twenty-two years old when burglers broke into Democratic National Committee headquarters at The Watergate. The effect of a President of the United States resigning over criminal behavior opened my naive eyes to how easily powers of the highest office in the land could be abused. Even then, one vote in the House determined Nixon’s fate upon the successful subpoena for Nixon’s tapes. At least that Congress did their job. In Helsinki, I watched conspiracy with a foreign adversary, who hacked our election with the intent of electing Donald Trump, occurring right before my eyes. It is time for this Congress to do their job.
25
One word out of all these words, "the best words" the president always uses?
Are you kidding us? This transcript simply reinforces what we all saw yesterday, a combination of word salad, conspiracy theories, vacant rants, useless reiterations of election statistics, and above all, soulful stares at Putin and repeated statements that throw the entire US intelligence community under the bus.
Not once, not twice, but over and over, as he dug himself into a deeper hole with every subsequent question.
Removing one word from the transcript doesn't cut it, unless you make that word, "I."
67
It would be much easier to believe him if he didn't lie on average 7 times a day.
But it's far more than just his incessant lying, it's his well-established pattern that this week included calling the EU 'foes', his daily attacks on the FBI via Twitter and his utter reluctance to say anything negative about Putin's Russia.
27
Trump's lie, today, is obvious. What is sad is that it is likely enough for Paul Ryan.
25
Paul Ryan is also a liar.
2
Private meeting, no witnesses. It's what he said and agreed to in that meeting that we should worry about.
Mr. Mueller needs to see his tax returns post stat. I'm certain this is about Russian money laundering and other nefarious deals that were enacted long before Trump gained illegal access to the White House aka Kremlin Annex.
41
A few days ago I read a comment from a Kremlin senior official being interviewed on Russian national television about the notion of Russia helping Trump win the election, it is "...and now the wind is in our sails..." That pretty much sums it up.
4
There's only one word wrong with President Trump, President.
22
What the heck is this. The New York Times needs to come out with their own conclusion. I don’t particularly care what others are saying. You certainly can’t trust Trump or his supporters to come up with any serious response to this. I for one would like the NYT to call it what it is treasonous, No President should put any other nation before America, to do so is treasonous. Stop pussyfooting around on this by asking others to make up their own minds. Just have the guts to call it like it is. It is treasonous, period.
28
Immediately you could see Trump had no stamina. He looked angered, and the bags under his eyes hung prominently. He did that sniffing thing.
The lights went out briefly as he began the first remark of his press conference. It felt like karma. He insisted it should've have been clear what he meant.
But if he meant "why wouldn't Russians interfere" would he immediately deflect to Hillary's servers and emails as if totally annoyed?
A comic noted his do-over sounded like "I could care less" versus "I couldn't care less."
At the end, an MSNBC reporter asked Trump 3 times if he would publicly condemn Putin for election interference. All 3 times, Trump said “thank you” or ignored the reporter.
The first story of the NY Times above the fold seemed to immediately take Trump at his word....the Times' editorials were much more realistic.
6
Folks should analyze both participants' body language. Trump would have entirely different body language if he was confronting Putin, and Putin would also react differently if his word was being questioned; both seem to act as old friends? Make your own determination!
10
"Despite the (double) negative press (not) covfefe(n't)."
6
Excuse(n't) me, such unpresidented words!
As if one new lie could erase innumerable previous ones... The "president" has such faith in lying that he expects the last lie he utters to be believed - but by whom? Whoever believes it should stand up and be counted, either as a moron or as a member of this new cult.
14
As the Donald tries to “walk back” what he said, this tongue twister came to mind …
How much “would” “wouldn’t” the Donald muck up if the Donald “wouldn’t” muck up “would?”
Amazing how “commander in chief” can’t even command the words that come forth from his mouth (and his tweets).
13
Don't be naive. No do overs when it is inconvenient to him. He is a traitor. Period.
47
In the comments that have been written here and elsewhere on this topic, one repeatedly comes across remarks that are either caused by a lack of information or due to deliberate attempts at distortion.
Trump places himself at the forefront of opportunistic regressive ideology, and his propaganda is built on lies that create their own chaos politics for supporters who feel invisible without his representation and have abandoned any capacity they may have had to determine their own fate.
The malcontent masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their constitution; thus they more readily fall victims to propaganda and lies big and small. Even though the facts and evidence which prove this to be so may be brought clearly into view, they will still doubt and continue to believe that there's some other explanation.
The facts and evidence to disprove Trump and GOP lies and propaganda are presented daily in myriad forms and forums. Despite this, pretending that these do not exist is obligatory for Republicans at every level. This strategy and its techniques have been employed by numerous non-Democratic regimes throughout history. Citizens who understand neither the basis for this strategy nor the efficacy of it, or do not wish to contemplate it, will never be able to lend a hand in helping Truth to prevail.
12
First, he says he doesn't know why Russia would meddle in the election; secondly, he says he doesn't know why Russia wouldn't meddle in the election. This says that he is ambivalent about either cause or motivation, or both. He allows for effect to be detached from both by indicating that his campaign defeated his opponent soundly. He extols the virtues of competition both as a basis for his relationship with President Putin and as one for the government's relation with that of the Russian Federation. Presumably, this holds for that between him and his opponent in the election as well. From this, we glean that the President is "a great competitor". The question of the pipeline is expressed as an example of this. Some exchange value exists in his mind between U.S. hegemony in the oil and gas world and the "advantage locationally", large to small, it appears. Both countries are held responsible for the arms race, ostensibly, and perhaps the journalist who was expelled because he held a sign up which stated:"Nuclear Disarmament Treaty", or something to that effect, is responsible too. The special prosecutor apparently has something to do with U.S.-Russia relations in a negative way. According to President Putin, Trump's view of the Crimea has been "put paid to". The "Pakistani gentleman" and a number of Mrs. Clinton's e-mails appear to intoxicate Trump as an egregious wrong in their servers' absence. Maybe the choice of Helsinki as the bright shining city on the hill was apt.
2
Trump gets every word wrong.
He is not only our most inarticulate president ever, he's one of the most inarticulate people I've ever heard speak. His limited vocabulary and awkward speaking style and angry voice are incredibly grating to the mind, soul, and spirit.
And he fawns over Putin. There's that, too.
92
He uses those same words over and over, like they are warhammers forged from stupidity in the fires of Mount Koch.
1
One word wrong? Considering his vocabulary, that's yuge.
But snarkiness aside, let's jump to truisms. As in, give 'em enough rope... I feel strangely jubilation today. It surely can't be long now.
I also feel a little bit sad. If there was any part of Trump that really wanted to be a good president, he's sacrificed those intentions to his ego or appetite or whatever other form of lesser self you want to name. We 3 million more can tell a person of service vs self-interest, and it appears some Republicans can catch on.
Can Trump be humbled? He's lying about would/wouldn't so he must be a little concerned about something? Can he actually learn and grow and be the leader he says he is? Or will he just continue to dig himself into an impossible corner and become one of the most mocked presidents ever? I don't think it does any of us any good to mock our own president, for the record, but I also don't know how you accept or explain the lap dog behavior in Helsinki.
5
I watched a documentary on him on tv, which featured interviews he gave in the 1980s. The documentary ends with him saying (at around 30-something years of age, I think), "maybe I'll run for president.". Even back then he was thinking of this. But flippantly - clearly very much for himself. He said it the way someone would say, "maybe I'll run the NYC marathon". He was very much the self absorbed narcissist he is today. Everything he does is for himself. He will never be humbled.
4
The use of color in the online NYT appears here and elsewhere in these stories to great effect: the red mixed with not just "gold" but the yellow of cowardice and envy to produce a distinctive orange.
6
But surely there is neither enough red nor yellow, and hence not enough orange?
1
Of course he did. He's a gangster? Do people still not get this?
21
Maybe we should thank Mr. Putin for exposing Mr. Trump for what he is. A man beset with many personality disorders - narcissistic, misogynistic, histrionic - and who's god complex accounts for his behavior. But most of all, like most wannabe bullies, a coward.
45
And don’t forget, a mediocre crook.
1
Putin and those in power in Russia are said to be ecstatic after this performance by Trump. Trump's words are beyond strange, in his saying that Putin is 'extremely strong and powerful', which sounds like pure adulation given by a subservient adult film star to the actor he admires most.
Trump is enamored by all strongmen from the leader of the Philippines, who is reputed to have killed thousands in his war on drugs, to North Korea's Kim ('a great honor') and now to his all time favorite, Vladimir Putin, of the KGB and radioactive poisonings.
We can only imagines the waves of raucous laughter arising at the Kremlin as they watch over and over these clips with Trump fawning over their Russian leader.
43
Everything he say's is a lie. He usually takes one position one day and the direct opposite the next depending on how he feels. He lies his way out of everything, every day of his life. So why do we listen?
15
I think about the efforts and risks our agents took in order to put together the facts that support the indictment and I think about our president who ignores their work and sides with the adversary in front of the whole world. What’s the reason for this behavior? What a traitor and coward you are Mr. president ! You lost all my respect and support!
23
Why on earth would anyone have ever respected or supported him ever?
Good thing he was preparing for this moment all his life or it would have been a bigger disaster than it was.
19
" I beat Hillary Clinton easily. And, frankly, we beat her — and I’m not even saying from the standpoint — we won that race."
Hmm, is the "we" Trump and Putin?
102
trump puts on the face of either a bully or a coward depending on his audience . If he's talking about an individual he's a bully; if he's talking one-on-one to that individual he invariably becomes the cowardly lion of the Wizard of Oz. He makes nice to Merkel, May or Trudeau to their face but it standard operating procedure to insult them before and after. The few exceptions are the objects of his envy or admiration - he never insults Putin, Erdogan, Duterte, Netanyahu or, more recently, Xi, and Kim.
His base is like a bunch of abused spouses - they love him and won't leave him, until some moment of reckoning.
As for his serial lies - it's debatable which day he believed his own words to be true, Monday or Tuesday, Of one thing there's no doubt - the coward will get on the phone to Vlad to insist he meant what he said on Monday.
32
My two cents: Lots "wrong."
1. No note takers as Trump met Putin for 130 minutes. Trump said he expected to have an “extraordinary relationship” with the Russian dictator. (Both aspects odd and unrealistic.)
2. Putin said they discussed inviting Mueller investigators to Russia to the U.S. to question the charged Russian officers, but noted he wanted to be given a reciprocal arrangement. (Obviously absurd--even for a seemingly duped Trump.)
3. Unbelievably, Trump still gushed: “I think that’s an incredible offer.” (Why would Trump respond like that if he thought Russia interfered in our elections? Clearly he doesn'tbelieve Russia did.)
4. Trump neglected to publicly pressure Mr. Putin on election interference.
5. On Monday a Russian Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account liked the president’s tweet which blamed America for the state of the relationship, and quoting the tweet, wrote: “We agree.”
6. Russian state-owned news agencies disseminated Trump's tweet. On news site RIA Novosti, the blaring headline was: “Relations with Russia have deteriorated because of the stupidity of the United States, said Trump.”
(No wonder millions of people thought the summit was a treasonous summit.)
How'd I do??
53
Re no.3 - clearly he KNOWS Russia did interfere but has no problem lying about what he actually knows. And his intel guys know he knew about the interference from the get go. It's like the mirror scene in Orson Welle's film ( I forget the title).
2
Hi. He's afraid of something and it relates to Russia. I have best friends from Canada who reside near me when we go to Myrtle Beach.
Great observation.
Unless and until Mitch McConnell and passes legislation to protect the Special Counsel and the Justice Department, the FBI and the CIA, and to ensure NATO and the EU that we are allies who are dependable and consistent, his words are empty, and the GOP responsible for the decline of the USA.
If the Republicans were serious about their responsibilities to this country and its Constitution, at the minimum they would censure Trump’s pro-Putin actions and limit his sphere of power. As it is, he cannot be trusted with the country’s most important security information. Damage control from his Putin troika ride needs to be enforced through legislation.
Trump did get one word wrong. He should have said to Putin “nyet” when offered a “gift bag” from the Kremlin. To our great detriment, he said instead, “Da” and the rest is Moscow Ritz history.
13
This sentence has gone unnoticed. Please, call attention to it! It is in our own national security interest to support those within Russia that are risking their lives to stand up to Putin.
When talking about Hillary Clinton's e-mails, Trump said, 'I think in Russia they wouldn't be gone so easily'. Is Trump saying that the e-mails show proof of some sort of criminal activity committed by Clinton? Is Trump saying that United States law enforcement entities were unable to secure that information because they are incompetent or corrupt, but Russian law enforcement would not have been? This was a gift to the Russian propaganda machine, and a slap in the face to the brave Russians who have died trying to secure more freedoms for their people from Putin's corrupt, brutal government.
42
Really this is all I think of him. In fact I cannot think of the name of a single republican who this does not fit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-mn3tfgS7A
7
Woulda, coulda, shoulda...this guy sounds like a sixth grader trying to explain why he forgot to do his homework. Presidents are supposed to get the words right. It's a critical part of a difficult job.
Which is more pathetic, not getting his words right, or the tiresome repetition of an unconvincing, but face-saving claim, that Russia had nothing to do with his remarkable ascension to high office? Either way he continues to demonstrate his complete lack of qualifications for this task. How long can he, or we, tolerate this embarrassment?
81
Who's he foolin? Don's his name, treason's his game. For cripe's sake don't cut the big orange bustard a break! He broke the Helsinki Summit and now owns it. Did you get a load of his demented sharpie addition to his "apology" note for saying "would" instead of "wouldn't" -- "no collusion", he penned... Throw the book at him. Lock him up! He's crooked and demented, President Don!
32
Word, shmurd:
Is there an Exorcist in the House?
For the solution I have itched,
It’s clear now that
Trump was bewitched,
And Ras-Putin, a Warlock he
Did it before Helsinki.
That hairdo adorning Trump’s head,
A magic potion held instead,
Encompassing his feeble brain,
Power o’er tweeting did attain.
His loyalty, the heart and soul,
Is to Ras-Putin on the whole.
And to undo what does exist,
Requires help from an exorcist.
31
I love it, Ras-putin!
1
Absolutely brilliant.
The graphic accompanying this article is wonderful on so many levels: in how it references the Trump / Clinton debate during which Trump hovered menacingly behind Clinton, in how it portrays Trump for the small man he is, in how our President looks like Putin's little ventriloquist puppet. Regardless, Trump is a coward, both scared and seemingly beholden of Putin. And the GOP are bigger cowards for enabling and allowing Trump to behave in ways that have moved from being inappropriate to reeking havoc throughout the world. The only thing more disturbing than his performance in Helsinki is his believing he can walk those words back.
38
The entire thrust of his comments was to throw water on our nation's intelligence findings and on the possibility that Russian interference could have put him in the White House.
At no time did he demonstrate any faith in the findings of our intelligence and law enforcement services.
He went on to blame the Mueller investigation for pushing Russia and the US apart - which should say all you need to know about how he views these intelligence reports.
He looked every bit a man who had either a bizarre crush on a murderer or who knew that that murderer had enough dirt on him to ruin him politically and send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Whatever Trump said today, expect him to contradict it a coming tweet. He is incapable of any consistency of thought.
66
Would it be possible to access a transcript of the comments with an alternative highlight of the information labeled "false" and "questionable"? For those of us that are red-green colorblind!
7
"I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be."
Now Donald J. TRAITOR says he meant to say "I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it WOULDN'T be [Russia]."
In context, the correction does not even make sense.
Given the tweets that Donald J. TRAITOR issued after the presser, and the interview he gave Sean Hannity after the presser, he certainly did not support the "correction."
I have to conclude that Donald J. TRAITOR is a liar. (I know, shocking, isn't it?)
143
Donald Trump has been "unmasked"--by himself, and in front of the whole world. He dodges, obfuscates, but sides with Putin who was "very strong" in his denial that orchestrates a full-scale attack on the U.S. in the 2016 that put Trump in The White House. The fawning payback was obvious, disgraceful, and revealed that we now have a Russian operative in The Oval Office. Parsing words ala Bill Clinton will not now, as it did not then, spin the the stark truth that we witnessed an American President sell out his country. Trump as been skating along this line during and after the election and now he's crossed. We have a man whose foreign policy is Putin's policy. That is a "high crime" and Donald Trump must be removed from office either by resignation or impeachment. To ignore this is to allow Trump to be anointed an autocrat.
180
I agree with you, but do you think there are the 'horses' in Congress to commence with impeachment or event to convince Trump to resign? Witness the lukewarm comments from the likes of Ryan and McConnell. Bob Corker says he takes the president "at his word." Why? Do they not hear and read the same words that we hear and read? Why do they not react and respond with the kind of outrage those of us on main street do? What, who, and where is the influence coming from that causes these people to minimize just about everything Trump says?
2
Ok enough is enough. It's time to recognize this guy has no business as president of this nation. It's time for all patriots to call him out. And I mean all. Obama, Bush, Clinton etc...enough of the political politeness, giving the current office holder, polite discretion. Stand up and denounce this jerk. He's a danger to our democracy, to world democracies, to the rule of law and to truth as we recognize it. Please before it's too late, stand up other's less couragous will follow, but stand up.
112
"It's time to recognize this guy has no business as president of this nation. "
President Trump was Constitutionally elected by the American people who did so in the face of many accusations including accusations of Russian collusion, dishonesty, bankruptcy, ...
Being well informed, we elected him as our President.
He has s been tough on Russia increasing NATO and U. S. defense spending, criticizing Germany for the pipe line from Russia because it gives Russia influence over Germany. He has been a friend to fossil fuel production, and the Russian economy needs high fuel prices because they sell it and he has sanctioned them.
If you want an example of Russia friendly adim consider Obama. Remember the more flexibility flexibility after his last election open mic comment? Uranium one?
Remember Obama's comment to Romney in the 2012 debate regarding the 80s calling and wanting their foreign policy back? This was because Romney had identified Russia as our biggest threat.
Trump's actions are NOT pro Russian
We do have issues with our Intelligence. Remember Clapper telling us in public testimony to Congress how they were not wittingly doing mass data collection. That was weeks before Snowden. Looking at Comey's firing (backed by Rosenstein) and Mcabbes (backed by AG). How about Strzok and Page? Need I continue?
I loathe Trump. I loathe his crassness, his stupidity, his racism, I loathe his worship of authoritarianism, his servility, his toadying. I loathe all this and more about him, but -- and this is where the "but" comes in -- *but* I can see both sides of the Russia story, and there is something to recommend the side Trump finds himself on.
When it comes to all things Russia, the Anglo-American press speaks in recent years with almost one voice. Russia is portrayed as a corrupt place run by a corrupt man, an aggressor against its neighbors and a clear threat to western Europe. In this common and unrelenting portrayal one can easily make out the shaping of public opinion and the build up to war.
We are not at war with Russia, not officially and not even unofficially, not yet, anyway. There seems to be little doubt that Russia meddled in our election, and in other things. But approaching Russia as a friend, rather than as a foe, is a strategic decision, and in view of the history it may not be a bad one. In any event it's certainly not treason on the part of the president, loathsome though he is.
1
There's no defense. Trump sided with Putin and doubted our intelligence agencies. He was a pushover. The "walk-back?" Unconvincing. It was fake. Yesterday we saw televised fake news from the white house.
No amount of fixes can remove our memory of his reach-out to a despised dictator. As proof, Trump said "in Russia there would be no missing emails.' All hail the authoritarian?
Retired military generals are coming out of the woodwork with grave worry. The list of Trump people working with Russian nationals continues to be grow. And Trump? Incapable of the truth.
You'd have to be in caveman denial to not believe his campaign cooperated with Russia to win an election. Jared Kushner still can't get security clearances. Next distraction: Trump will undo international trade?
21
Look at his deeds over his word. He has tremendously increased NATO military spending and Unitrd States military spending, the two greatest threats to Russian expansion and Military dominance. Russia's economy is dependent of fossil fuel prices and Trump has been fossil fuel production friendly. He called out Germany as a NATO country for having a pipeline from Russia touching no other NATO country because it gives Russia influence of Germany while also calling out their lack on NATO military spending. He has also imposed sanctions on Russiin
In his words you may see him as friendly t ok Russia. In his deeds not so much.
1. Trump thought the NATO money went to the U.S. As if he could pocket it. Clueless.
2. He wanted that pipeline to Russia, not realizing the distance from the U.S. would be too expensive. Germany is closer.
He's too uniformed on geography to know that fact.
3. He's wrong about what the U.S. contributes to NATO. He's wrong about the percentage agreed to before he got here.
4. He had to be forced to impose sanctions on Russia. They were ordered Oct. 1, 2017 by US legislators by law. Google it.
5. He is a pawn of Russia and his campaign coordinated to win the election. Mueller indicts someone every week.
6. House Republicans are planning more sanctions against Russia.
Both Democrats and "not brain-addled" Republicans want to interview the US interpreter to ascertain what it was he told Putin in a 130 minute meeting without a note-taker.
Sadly, even the members of the GOP that spoke out were already back on board after Trump gave that botched 'walk back' speech and took him at his word.
This article is absurd.
There is no credence to Trump's new statement; therefore, there is no decision to be made.
Donald Trump said what he meant: He sees no reason why it would be Russia. There is ample evidence to support that he truly believes that. There is barely anything to support the opposite.
Yet the New York Times thinks people should "decide for yourself."
That is wrong.
By publishing this article, the Times is yet again enabling the president to confuse, distract, and divide the public with blatant lies and misinformation.
Enough is enough.
7
This isn't an article; it is a transcript. There is nothing to debate the facts are right there in front of you. Mr. Trump sold out this country. It is time for the Republican party to do what it was elected to do at the bare minimum--protect our democracy.
2
Thank you. Even if I believe him about that one word, which I don’t, there are in fact all the other words. Praising Putin’s forceful denial doesn’t look like a rejection to me.
7