Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Russian State Television's Analysis of Donald Trump's Attempt to Walk Back His Helsinki Remarks Is Surprisingly On Point

Russian State Television's Analysis of Donald Trump's Attempt to Walk Back His Helsinki Remarks Is Surprisingly On Point
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 17: U.S. President Donald Trump talks about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with House Republicans in the Cabinet Room of the White House on July 17, 2018 in Washington, DC. Following a diplomatic summit in Helsinki, Trump faced harsh criticism after a press conference with Putin where he would not say whether he believed Russia meddled with the 2016 presidential election. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Pretty much.

As the American public struggles to process why President Donald Trump came to the defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Russian state television threw cold water on his attempt to walk back his comments refuting Russia's role in attacking the 2016 presidential election.

Julia Davis of russianmediamonitor.com tweeted a translation of Russia 1's analysis of Trump's Tuesday reversal, in which the president tried to backpedal remarks he made during a press conference with Putin on Monday.


"It's very simple. First time, he said what he thought," anchor Sergey Fedorov said on Wednesday morning. "Then he got back to the Oval Office, discovered a hysterical reaction & realized he overdid it."

You can watch the Russian broadcast here.

When pressed by a reporter if he believed Russia interfered in the 2016 election, Trump said he has faith in the assessments of American intelligence agencies but "doesn't see why it would be" Russia who hacked the Democratic National Committee and stole voter registration information. Trump added that Putin was "strong and powerful" in his denial of Russian involvement.

I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be. 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.

This, of course, was three days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed indictments against 12 Russian military intelligence officers for their roles in breaching DNC servers and attempting to disseminate stolen voter registration data, including the DNC's voter analytics, which campaigns use for targeted ads and voter outreach.

On Tuesday, Trump attempted to walk back his remarks, which have been widely described as “treasonous,” by claiming he meant to say, “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.”

"I have felt very strongly that while Russia's actions had no impact at all on the outcome of the election, let me be totally clear in saying...that I accept our American intelligence community's conclusion that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place," the president said.

"Could be other people also, there’s a lot of people out there," he added.

"The USA is broken," one person tweeted in response to Davis.

Going one step further, another person suggested Mueller subpoena the translator that accompanied Trump to his closed-door meeting with Putin in Helsinki on Monday. No specifics on what the two leaders discussed have been released, aside from generalizations by the president which remain unverified.

Others are trusting the word of Russian propaganda over the president's, indicating growing skepticism over where the president's loyalties lie.

"The Russians don't believe" Trump either, one person wrote.

Trump's 180 on Tuesday was met with massive public push-back, especially after NBC News reported that the president was strong-armed by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo into "clarifying" his stance.

"President Trump tried to squirm away from what he said yesterday. It’s 24 hours too late and in the wrong place," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said.

"I don't accept the president’s comments today," Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), co-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee fired back at the president. "If he wanted to make those comments, he should have had the strength to make them in front of Vladimir Putin."

Warner also noted the similarity to Trump referring to white supremacists as "very decent people" after a rally in Charlottesville, Virgina turned violent last year.

This has a strange resemblance to the president's comments after he was so offensive after the disturbances in Charlottesville where he equated the neo-Nazis with the protesters. So, I give these comments about 24 hours before he once again slams the investigation, before he once again sides with authoritarians like Vladimir Putin.

The president proceeded to ignore questions over whether he intends to condemn Putin, with whom he has been obsessed for years.

“Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow—if so, will he become my new best friend?” Trump tweeted in June 2013.

The Trump-owned Miss Universe pageant was held in Moscow that year, shortly before Trump began trying to finagle a deal to build a Trump Tower in the Russian capital.

More from People/donald-trump

Jesse Watters
Fox News

Jesse Watters Dragged After Adding Another Mind-Boggling Rule For 'Real Men'

Fox News host Jesse Watters, who is apparently an authority of what it means to be a manly man, gave jazz hands to make a point about how "real men" should or shouldn't wave.

The target of his ridicule was Tim Walz, the enthusiastic Democratic Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate who often greets the public by raising both hands in the air to wave.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of crowd at town hall and Rep. Mike Flood
@MorePerfectUS/X; KETV NewsWatch 7

GOP Rep. Goes Viral For His Response To Crowd Chanting 'Tax The Rich' At Town Hall

Nebraska Republican Representative Mike Flood was criticized following his incredulous response to a crowd that chanted "Tax the rich!" during a town hall meeting.

The Columbus High School auditorium hosted the town hall on Tuesday evening, drawing "nearly 380" attendees, according to local network KETV Omaha. The event was lively, with Flood facing both sharp criticism over Trump administration policies and some appreciation for showing up in person.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Awkward Typo In Elon Musk's Bizarre 'Education Department' Trump Meme Is A Total Self-Own

Billionaire Elon Musk was widely mocked after he celebrated President Donald Trump's executive order to begin to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE) by posting a meme of Trump at the department's grave, only for an awkward misspelling to get all the attention.

Polling indicates that eliminating the Education Department is largely unpopular, with 60% of registered voters opposing the move, according to a Quinnipiac University survey conducted March 6-10. Support stands at 33%, with opposition particularly strong among Democrats—98% oppose it, while just 1% support it.

Keep ReadingShow less
JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Dem Governor Reveals Trump's Bonkers Demand In Exchange For Equipment During COVID

Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker revealed during a speech this week that he clashed with President Donald Trump during the first Trump administration after Trump promised necessary medical equipment during the COVID pandemic on the condition that Pritzker praise him publicly.

Five years ago, the United States was grappling with the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country had entered shutdowns that had severe economic consequences, leaving businesses and industries on the brink of collapse.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scrabble tiles spelling the word scam
Scam spelled with scrabbles on a wooden table

People Break Down How They Realized An Entire Industry Was A Total Scam

We unfortunately live in a world where scams are on the rise.

Thankfully, some of them are pretty easy to detect, such as an automated call from the IRS telling you a warrant is out for your arrest, or an email claiming to be from Amazon or the USPS asking for your credit card information, only to look closer and see the email address is a yahoo account.

Keep ReadingShow less