What did Donald Trump do today?
He (and his surrogates) said that if Russian espionage and interference in the election took place, it might have been for the best.
Trump had flatly denied that Russia could have had anything to do with his election, going so far as to claim that the issue had even not been raised until after he was elected. (It was--in all three debates, by the Director of National Intelligence, in hundreds of newspaper articles, and by Trump himself.)
Given the likelihood that some congressional Republicans will join with Democrats to permit an investigation to go forward, however, Trump seems to be changing his tactics, claiming that hackers found "illegal" activities in the stolen e-mail archives of the DNC. As Trump surely knows, this is not true: while the contents of the e-mails angered some supporters of Bernie Sanders, they contained no suggestion that any laws had been broken.
Trump had flatly denied that Russia could have had anything to do with his election, going so far as to claim that the issue had even not been raised until after he was elected. (It was--in all three debates, by the Director of National Intelligence, in hundreds of newspaper articles, and by Trump himself.)
Given the likelihood that some congressional Republicans will join with Democrats to permit an investigation to go forward, however, Trump seems to be changing his tactics, claiming that hackers found "illegal" activities in the stolen e-mail archives of the DNC. As Trump surely knows, this is not true: while the contents of the e-mails angered some supporters of Bernie Sanders, they contained no suggestion that any laws had been broken.
What would I have to believe to be upset by this?
- Espionage against the United States is not a good thing.
- Interference in American elections by foreign powers is not a good thing.
- It is bad when a president lies about his political opponents.