Trump Putin: US president defends meeting and press conference - BBC News

July 18, 2018

Trump Putin: US president defends meeting and press conference

The president said "Trump Derangement Syndrome" was to blame for the criticism
US President Donald Trump has defended his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid a backlash over his performance.

On Twitter, Mr Trump condemned "haters" who did not want him getting along with Mr Putin, saying they suffered from "Trump Derangement Syndrome".

Mr Trump earlier admitted he misspoke at the press conference with Mr Putin.

He had appeared to back Mr Putin rather than his own intelligence services over claims of Russian election meddling.

That had sparked outrage from both sides of the political divide.

Posting on Twitter, Mr Trump said people "who wanted to see a boxing match" were bothered by his rapport with Mr Putin.

"They would rather go to war than see this!" he wrote.

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
 So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki. Putin and I discussed many important subjects at our earlier meeting. We got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match. Big results will come!

7:53 PM - Jul 18, 2018

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
 Some people HATE the fact that I got along well with President Putin of Russia. They would rather go to war than see this. It’s called Trump Derangement Syndrome!

9:27 PM - Jul 18, 2018
The tweets came a day after Mr Trump said he had missed out a word when appearing to support Mr Putin's claim that there was no Russian involvement in the 2016 US presidential election.

President Trump said he accepted his intelligence services' assessment that Russia had interfered.


Trump sheds light on his crucial error at Putin summit
Your toolkit to help understand the story
Trump's 'most serious mistake'
Damage done
Analysis by the BBC's Anthony Zurcher in Washington

Does Donald Trump believe in ominous metaphors? As he affirmed his support for US intelligence agencies, the lights went to black in the White House conference room.

Once order was restored, he said he had been in the dark as to why a storm had swirled around his presidency since his Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin. It was, he said, because he had misspoken.

That is going to be hard for many of the president's critics to swallow, however. Even if he did mean to say, "I don't see a reason why it wouldn't be Russia", it is a pretty weak way to confront the head of a nation accused of targeting the heart of American democracy.

What is more, the context of the president's comments make a simple slip of the tongue seem less likely.

At the very least, the president gave his supporters some material to rally around.

The damage, however, has been done. Mr Trump can give as many White House statements as he likes, but on the biggest stage - standing beside the Russian president - he fumbled. All the explanations cannot change that.

What Trump said then...
The controversy centres on a response he gave to a question at a news conference on Monday following the summit with Mr Putin.

This is an extract from the transcript posted by the White House.

REPORTER: President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. Every US intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did. My first question for you, sir, is, who do you believe?

Schwarzenegger calls Trump a 'wet noodle'
'Double negative' is not not trending
TRUMP: My people came to me... they said they think it's Russia. 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.

.... what he says now
Mr Trump said he had reviewed the transcript and realised he needed to clarify.

"In a key sentence in my remarks, I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't," he said.

"The sentence should have been: 'I don't see any reason why I wouldn't' or 'why it wouldn't be Russia'. Sort of a double negative."

The US president added: "I accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place. Could be other people also. A lot of people out there."


Media captionThe ways Trump and Putin see eye to eye
Mr Trump said that the interference had had no impact on the election, in which he defeated Hillary Clinton.

However, he did not respond when reporters asked him if he would condemn Mr Putin.

During the press conference with President Putin - in the same answer as the transcript above - Mr Trump went on to say: "President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. And what he did is an incredible offer; he 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."

In another tweet on Wednesday, Mr Trump said that Russia had "agreed to help with North Korea", adding that "the process is moving along".

"There is no rush, the sanctions remain! Big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!" the president wrote.

He said that his meeting with Mr Putin was "positive" and "may prove to be, in the long run... an even greater success".

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
 While the NATO meeting in Brussels was an acknowledged triumph, with billions of dollars more being put up by member countries at a faster pace, the meeting with Russia may prove to be, in the long run, an even greater success. Many positive things will come out of that meeting..

8:08 PM - Jul 18, 2018
How great has been the outrage?
Chuck Schumer, leader of the opposition Democrats in the Senate, said Mr Trump's retraction of his previous comments was a sign of weakness.

"He made a horrible statement, tried to back off, but couldn't even bring himself to back off," he told the Senate. "It shows the weakness of President Trump that he is afraid to confront Mr Putin directly."

Skip Twitter post by @BBCSteveR


Steve Rosenberg
✔
@BBCSteveR
 Even the Russian press is stunned by Donald Trump's performance in Helsinki. One paper today is shocked that, in Putin's presence, Trump "publicly expressed a lack of trust in his own intelligence agencies. You don't do things like that. He'll pay a high political price."

6:26 PM - Jul 18, 2018

End of Twitter post by @BBCSteveR
Republicans and Democrats alike were dumbfounded that Mr Trump had sided with Russia over his own intelligence officials after Monday's summit.

The US and Russia have been long-term adversaries and remain far apart on major issues. Some lawmakers were also upset that Mr Trump had refused to offer specific criticisms of Russia and Mr Putin, instead saying both countries were responsible for poor relations.

Even one of his most loyal Republican supporters, Newt Gingrich, said the comments were the "most serious mistake of his presidency".

House Republican Mike Turner accused Mr Trump of having damaged American foreign policy by failing to take Russia to task.

"He's given them a pass and is certainly not holding them accountable for what they're doing," he added.