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‘Time to Move Forward,’ Trump Says After Putin Denies Election Hacking ‘Time to Move Forward,’ Trump Says After Putin Denies Election Hacking
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Sunday said he had “strongly pressed” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia about election meddling during their first face-to-face meeting last week but did not dispute Moscow’s claim that he had accepted Mr. Putin’s denial of involvement, as he declared it “time to move forward” in a constructive United States relationship with Russia. WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Sunday that he had “strongly pressed” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia twice about election meddling during their first face-to-face meeting last week but did not dispute Moscow’s claim that he had accepted Mr. Putin’s denial of involvement, as he declared it “time to move forward” in a constructive United States relationship with Russia.
Mr. Trump’s account of his lengthy and closely scrutinized closed-door meeting with Mr. Putin, which came in a thread of morning Twitter posts, was his attempt to move beyond the controversy that has followed the session after Moscow characterized the election discussion as a meeting of the minds rather than a showdown between the American president and his Russian counterpart. Mr. Trump’s account, in a thread of morning Twitter posts, of his lengthy and closely scrutinized closed-door meeting with Mr. Putin was an attempt to move beyond the controversy after Moscow characterized the election discussion as a meeting of minds rather than a showdown between the two leaders.
Mr. Trump’s tweets did little to dispel that notion, as he characterized his own position as an “opinion” and asserted that he was prepared to team with Moscow — which American intelligence agencies say meddled in the election last year, and will attempt to again — on forming an “impenetrable Cyber Security unit” to thwart future breaches. Mr. Trump’s tweets, though, did little to dispel that notion. He characterized his position as an “opinion” and asserted that he was prepared to team with Moscow — which United States intelligence agencies say carried out a historic effort to interfere with American democracy last year, and will attempt to again — on forming an “impenetrable Cyber Security unit” to thwart future breaches.
“I strongly pressed President Putin twice about Russian meddling in our election,” Mr. Trump said in the post. “He vehemently denied it. I’ve already given my opinion.” “I strongly pressed President Putin twice about Russian meddling in our election,” Mr. Trump said in one post. “He vehemently denied it. I’ve already given my opinion.”
“We negotiated a ceasefire in parts of Syria which will save lives,” Mr. Trump continued in another message. “Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!”“We negotiated a ceasefire in parts of Syria which will save lives,” Mr. Trump continued in another message. “Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!”
The posts served as Mr. Trump’s first public comments on the meeting after the White House declined to schedule the customary presidential news conference at the end of the Group of 20 summit meeting of major world economies in Hamburg, Germany. Mr. Trump’s meeting with Mr. Putin came on the sideline of that gathering, which ended on Saturday. The posts, which drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, served as Mr. Trump’s first public comments on the meeting after the White House declined to schedule the customary presidential news conference at the end of the Group of 20 gathering in Hamburg, Germany. Mr. Trump’s meeting with Mr. Putin came on the sideline of that event, which ended on Saturday.
Mr. Putin, however, broke with his normal practice of not speaking to reporters and held a lengthy news conference, in which he told reporters that Mr. Trump had “agreed” with his statements about election interference. Mr. Putin, however, broke with his normal practice of not speaking to reporters and held a lengthy news conference, in which he said that Mr. Trump had “agreed” with his statements about election interference.
“He raised many questions on the issue,” Mr. Putin said, according to Sputnik. “I answered all these questions, as far as I could. I think that he took it into account and agreed. Actually, you would better ask him how he found it.”“He raised many questions on the issue,” Mr. Putin said, according to Sputnik. “I answered all these questions, as far as I could. I think that he took it into account and agreed. Actually, you would better ask him how he found it.”
Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, the only other Russian official in the meeting — which also included Rex W. Tillerson, the secretary of state — said after the meeting that not only had Mr. Trump accepted Mr. Putin’s denial, but that he had also said the election meddling allegations had been “exaggerated” by some in the United States without proof. A day before, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov — the only other Russian official in the meeting, which also included Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson — had said that Mr. Trump had not only accepted Mr. Putin’s denial, but also said that the election meddling allegations had been “exaggerated” by some in the United States without proof.
In a brief question-and-answer session aboard Air Force One as Mr. Trump returned from the summit meeting on Saturday, senior officials did not address or dispute the Russian version of events. Yet Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, on Sunday described a confrontational meeting between the two presidents and said that Mr. Trump “absolutely did not believe the denial of President Putin.”
Steven Mnuchin, the secretary of the Treasury, said three times that Mr. Trump had handled the meeting “brilliantly,” and had “made his position felt.” “This was an extensive portion of the meeting,” Mr. Priebus said on “Fox News Sunday.” Senior administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private meeting, have said the election interference occupied about 40 minutes of the 135-minute discussion.
In separate interviews broadcast over the weekend, Nikki R. Haley, the United Nations ambassador, said Mr. Putin’s description of the meeting was an attempt to obfuscate. “This is Russia trying to save face, and they can’t,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Everybody knows that Russia meddled in our elections.”
“President Trump still knows that they meddled,” Ms. Haley said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “President Putin knows that they meddled, but he is never going to admit to it. And that’s all that happened.”
In a brief question-and-answer session aboard Air Force One as Mr. Trump returned from the summit meeting on Saturday, senior officials did not address the Russian version of events.
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said three times that Mr. Trump had handled the meeting “brilliantly” and had “made his position felt.”
“After a very substantive discussion on this, they reached an agreement that they would start a cyberunit to make sure that there was absolutely no interference whatsoever, that they would work on cybersecurity together,” Mr. Mnuchin said. “And President Trump focused the conversation on Syria and the Ukraine and North Korea.”“After a very substantive discussion on this, they reached an agreement that they would start a cyberunit to make sure that there was absolutely no interference whatsoever, that they would work on cybersecurity together,” Mr. Mnuchin said. “And President Trump focused the conversation on Syria and the Ukraine and North Korea.”
Mr. Trump’s handling of the meeting has become a flash point in the United States, ensuring that it will continue to be dissected as multiple investigations continue into whether the president’s campaign worked with Russia. Mr. Trump’s handling of the meeting with Mr. Putin has become a flash point in the United States, and will continue to be dissected amid the multiple investigations into whether the president’s campaign worked with Russia. Republicans and Democrats on Sunday reacted with alarm to the president’s approach.
“Partnering with Putin on a ‘Cyber Security Unit’ is akin to partnering with Assad on a ‘Chemical Weapons Unit,’” Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, said on Twitter, alluding to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who has repeatedly used chemical weapons to attack his people. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, called the president’s meeting with Mr. Putin “disastrous,” saying of Mr. Trump, “You are hurting your ability to govern this nation by forgiving and forgetting and empowering.”
“He is hurting his presidency,” Mr. Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I want a clear message to Russia that you’ll pay a price for undercutting democracy, and if President Trump doesn’t embrace this, I think he will be empowering the Russians and betraying democracy.”
Of the idea of teaming with Russia on cybersecurity, Mr. Graham said, “It’s not the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard, but it’s pretty close.”
Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, also expressed grave concern about a United States-Russia cybersecurity initiative.
“Partnering with Putin on a ‘Cyber Security Unit’ is akin to partnering with Assad on a ‘Chemical Weapons Unit,’” he said on Twitter, referring to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who has repeatedly used chemical weapons to attack his own people.
Democrats, too, expressed deep skepticism about Mr. Trump’s strategy.
Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called the president’s idea of a joint effort with Moscow against cyberintrusions “dangerously naïve.”
“I don’t think we can expect the Russians to be any kind of a credible partner in some cybersecurity unit,” he said on Sunday on “State of the Union.” “If that’s our best election defense, we might as well just mail our ballot boxes to Moscow.”