[CNN] Trump says he believes Putin's election meddling denials

[sickwithsin]

Da Nang, Vietnam (CNN) President Donald Trump suggested on Saturday he's done confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin over his country's election meddling since it's insulting to the Russian leader.

Trump said he took Putin at his word that Russia did not seek to interfere in the US presidential election last year, despite a finding from US intelligence agencies that it did. The fraught relations between the two leaders was underscored anew when Putin's spokesman said election meddling did not come up when they spoke, even though Trump said it did.

And he stressed that bigger issues persist between the United States and Russia that require the two leaders to move on.

 

"He said he didn't meddle. He said he didn't meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew from Da Nang to Hanoi in Vietnam. Trump spoke to Putin three times on the sidelines of summit here, where the Russia meddling issue arose.

"Every time he sees me, he says, 'I didn't do that,'" Trump said. "And I believe, I really believe, that when he tells me that, he means it."

"I think he is very insulted by it," Trump added.

His remarks, which came near the end of Trump's marathon swing through Asia, amounted to the clearest statement yet of Trump's views about last year's election meddling issue. As Trump has traveled abroad, the special counsel investigation looking into possible collusion between his campaign aides and Russia has crept close to Trump's inner circle.

 

Jetting from Tokyo to Seoul to Beijing, Trump has largely remained quiet about the Russia investigation back home. But on his flight, which departed Da Nang in the early evening Saturday, Trump's simmering anger over the Russia matter burst forth.

"There was no collusion. Everybody knows there was no collusion," Trump insisted. "I think it's a shame that something like that could destroy a very important potential relationship between two countries that are really important countries."

He added he thought that Putin and he could "have the potential to have a very, very good relationship."

Trump's acceptance of Putin's denial that Russia sought to sway the election in his favor runs counter to assessments by US intelligence agencies. While describing his relationship with Putin and the ongoing investigations into 2016 meddling, Trump seemed to indicate on Saturday that he trusts Putin's denials more than the comments of former intelligence officials, like former high-ranking intelligence officials James Comey, John Brennan and James Clapper.

"I mean, give me a break, they are political hacks," Trump said. "So you look at it, I mean, you have Brennan, you have Clapper and you have Comey. Comey is proven now to be a liar and he is proven now to be a leaker. So you look at that and you have President Putin very strongly, vehemently says he had nothing to do with them."

Trump said the discrepancies between Putin and American officials weren't worth debatingwhen other security issues require the two men's attention.

"You are not going to get into an argument, you are going to start talking about Syria and the Ukraine," he said.

"I can't stand there and argue with him," he added. "I'd rather have him get out of Syria, to be honest with you. I'd rather have him, you know, work with him on the Ukraine than standing and arguing."

 

Trump repeated his claims that Russian interference in the US election is a conspiracy invented by Democrats to distract from their electoral losses. And he implied that investigators looking into his campaign aides' ties to Moscow were better off probing elsewhere.

"That whole thing was set up by the Democrats," Trump declared.

Trump's comments, which came after a two-day stay at this seaside resort, reflected ongoing frustration at his inability to warm ties with Moscow, which he pledged to do on the campaign trail.

While attending meetings for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the question loomed whether he would meet with Putin, either formally or in a casual pull-aside chat.

Ahead of Trump's arrival, his aides indicated that a meeting was possible. The Kremlin indicated the same. But as the summit wore on, US and Russian officials diverged in their public statements, with American officials saying a meeting wasn't happening and Russian officials indicating it still might.

Trump and Putin did speak at various occasions throughout the summit, and agreed to release a joint statement on Syria. But they did not sit for formal talks. Trump has met his Russian counterpart only one for such a face-to-face bilateral session, at the G20 summit in Germany in July.

Following those talks, Trump's aides insisted he raised the election meddling issue with Putin and expressed concerns about the issue. But Putin, speaking to reporters in Hamburg, said Trump had accepted his denials.

After Trump departed Da Nang on Saturday, Putin similarly spoke during an on-camera press briefing. He said US-Russia ties remained in a precarious condition.

"The relations between Russia and the US have not come out of the crisis state yet," he said. "As you know, and I often talk about it, we are prepared to turn the page and go forward to look into the future to solve the problems that are of interest to people of the United States and people of the Russian Federation."

Meanwhile, Putin's press secretary Dmitri Peskov told CNN that Putin and Trump did not discuss meddling in the presidential elections. In a text, CNN's Matthew Chance asked Peskov, "as far as you know, did the two leaders discuss meddling?"

Peskov's response was "No."

 

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The full exchange with the reporter:

 

Reporter: Did Russia's attempts to meddle in US elections come up in the conversations?

Trump: "He said he didn't meddle, he said he didn't meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times."

Reporter: Today?

Trump: "I just asked him again. He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election, he did not do what they are saying he did."

Reporter: Do you believe him?

Trump: "Well, look, I can't stand there and argue with him, I would rather have him get out of Syria, I would rather get to work with him on the Ukraine rather than arguing about whether or not... that whole thing was set up by the Democrats. Look at Podesta, look at all the things that they have done with the phony dossier. Those are the big events. But Putin said he did not do what they said he did. But we have a good feeling toward getting things done. If we had a relationship with Russia, that would be a good thing. In fact it would be a great thing, not a bad thing, because he could really help us on North Korea. We have a big problem with North Korea and China is helping us. And because of the lack of the relationship that we have with Russia, because of this artificial thing that's happening with this Democratic-inspired thing. We could really be helped a lot with Russia having to do with North Korea. You know you are talking about millions and millions of lives. This isn't baby stuff, this is the real deal. And if Russia helped us in addition to China, that problem would go away a lot faster."

Reporter: On election meddling, did you ask him the question?

Trump: "Every time he sees me he says I didn't do that and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it. But he says I didn't do that. I think he is very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country. Because again, if we had a relationship with Russia, North Korea which is our single biggest problem right now, it would help a lot. I think they are doing very well with respect to China, they have cut off financing, they have cut off lots of oil and lots of other things, lots of trade and it's having a big impact. But Russia on the other hand may be making up the difference. And if they are, that's not a good thing. So having a relationship with Russia would be a great thing especially as it relates to North Korea."

"Hillary had her stupid reset button that she spelled the word wrong, but she does not have what it takes to have that kind of relationship where you could call or you could do something. But this is really an artificial barrier that's put in front of us for solving problems with Russia. He says that very strongly, he really seems to be insulted by it and he says he didn't do it. He is very, very strong in the fact that he didn't do it. You have President Putin very strongly, vehemently says he has nothing to do with that. Now, you are not going to get into an argument, you are going to start talking about Syria and the Ukraine."

 

 

 

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Can't wait for 'Donald Trump' to replace 'Benedict Arnold' as a synonym for 'traitor'. 

[johnnyrose]

[Frogurt]

So he believes our enemies over our own intelligence agencies. Incredible.

[xRibbonsx]

Americans are racist towards Russia, never seen any other country bashed as much.

[Frogurt]

Americans are racist towards Russia, never seen any other country bashed as much.

Racist is not the word you're looking for. And maybe Russia should stop trying to promote fascism and undermine western democracy. That would be a nice first step towards getting off our shit lists. Something tells me I'm going to get another earful of whataboutism, though.