President Trump was given yet another opportunity to criticize Russia’s authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin, but he wouldn’t, or couldn’t, do it.
On Sunday’s 60 Minutes, Leslie Stahl asked Trump squarely why he never says anything harsh about Vladimir Putin, setting Trump up for what should have been one of the easiest layups in the history of American politics.
Except, and this is just bizarre, he didn’t take it:
Stahl: I mean him personally, Vladimir Putin—
Trump: I think I’m very tough with him personally. I had a meeting with him. The two of us. It was a very tough meeting and it was a very good meeting.
Stahl: Do you agree that Vladimir Putin is involved in assassinations? In poisonings?
Trump: Probably he is, yeah. Probably. I mean, I don’t–
Stahl: Probably?
Trump: Probably, but I rely on them, it’s not in our country.
What does Trump rely on the Russians for? Stahl did not get an answer.
Some members of Congress accused Trump of providing “aid and comfort” to the enemy following his private meeting with Putin this summer in Helsinki.
America’s Intelligence Community found that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election at the direction of Putin. Special counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 12 Russian spies accused of carrying it out.
However, Trump stunned the world by standing next to Putin during a press conference and taking his side while condemning America’s intelligence agencies.
Mueller’s team is following the Russian money trail that leads to the Trump Organization.