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Thursday 19 July 2018
Trump talks tougher, now says he warned Putin on meddling

By ZEKE MILLER, KEN THOM- "I would, because he's in had interfered in the 2016
AS and LISA MASCARO, charge of the country." U.S. election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — His The interview came at the "The sentence should have
toughness with Vladimir end of two days of shift- been, 'I don't see any rea-
Putin in question, President ing statements on whether son why I wouldn't, or why
Donald Trump declared on Trump agreed with the it wouldn't be Russia'" in-
Wednesday he had told findings of U.S. intelligence stead of "why it would,"
the Russian leader face to agencies that Russia inter- Trump said Tuesday of the
face to stay out of Amer- fered in the 2016 election comments he had made
ica's elections "and that's that sent him to the White in Helsinki. Ha had tweeted
the way it's going to be." House. Trump now says, a half-dozen times and sat
A few hours earlier, Trump with apparent reluctance, for two television interviews
had answered "no" when that he does agree, but he since the Putin news con-
asked if the longtime U.S. continues to add that oth- ference, before correcting
foe was still targeting Amer- ers may have intervened his remarks the next day.
ican elections. That reply as well. On Tuesday, he And the scripted cleanup
put the president sharply President Donald Trump gestures while speaking during his delivered a scripted state- pertained only to the least
at odds with recent public meeting with members of his cabinet in Cabinet Room of the ment to "clarify" — his word defensible of his comments.
White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 18, 2018. Looking
warnings from his own intel- on is Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. — his public doubting of Trump has refined and
ligence chief, but the White Associated Press U.S. intelligence findings of sharpened his presentation
House quickly stepped in to Russian interference in the in other ways in the two
say his answer wasn't what takably forceful tone. and that's the way it's go- election to harm his Dem- days since Helsinki.
it appeared. In Helsinki at their summit on ing to be." ocratic opponent, Hillary At the news conference
By day's end, in an inter- Monday, he said, "I let him Would he hold Putin per- Clinton. His reservations, 18 with Putin, he was asked if
view with CBS News, Trump know we can't have this. sonally responsible for fur- months into his presidency he would denounce what
was ready to set an unmis- We're not going to have it, ther election interference? and standing next to Putin happened in 2016 and
on foreign soil, prompted warn Putin never to do it
blistering criticism at home, again, and he did not di-
including from prominent rectly answer. Instead, he
fellow Republicans. went into a long rambling
Then, on Wednesday, he response including his de-
was asked during a Cabi- mands for investigation of
net meeting if Russia was Clinton's email server and
still targeting the U.S., and his description of Putin's "ex-
he answered "no" without tremely strong and power-
elaborating. That came just ful" denial of meddling.
days after National Intelli- Trump asserted Wednes-
gence Director Dan Coats day at the White House that
sounded an alarm, com- no other American presi-
paring the cyberthreat to- dent has been as tough on
day to how the way U.S. of- Russia. He cited U.S. sanc-
ficials said before 9/11 that tions and the expulsion of
intelligence channels were alleged Russian spies from
"blinking red" with warning the U.S., telling reporters
signs that a terror attack that Putin "understands it,
was imminent. and he's not happy about
White House press secre- it."
tary Sarah Huckabee Sand- The muddied waters have
ers said later that Trump deepened critics' concerns
actually was saying "no" to that Trump is not taking se-
answering additional ques- riously enough threats to
tions — even though he the U.S. electoral system.
subsequently went on to Pressed on why Trump has
address Russia. repeatedly passed on op-
"The president is wrong," portunities to publicly con-
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine demn Putin's actions, Sand-
said of Trump's one-word ers suggested Trump was
response. Told that Sand- working to make the most
ers had since clarified, she of an "opportunity" for the
responded, "There's a walk- two leaders to work togeth-
back of the walk-back of er on shared interests.
the walk-back of the walk- One such opportunity is
back? This is dizzying." what Trump termed an "in-
Amid bipartisan condem- credible offer" from Putin to
nation of Trump's embrace allow the U.S. access to Rus-
of a longtime U.S. enemy in sians accused of election
Helsinki, the U.S. president hacking and other interfer-
delivered a rare admission ence. In exchange, Putin
of error Tuesday, saying wants Russian interviews
he misspoke by one word of Americans accused by
when he said he saw no the Kremlin of unspecified
reason to believe Russia crimes.q