Donald Trump Calls Up Putin To Congratulate Him, Despite Being Advised Not To
U.S. President Donald Trump defended his phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said that getting along with Russia is a good thing, and not a bad thing.
Washington D.C.: U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to congratulate him on his electoral victory two days ago. Putin was re-elected by a landslide, with more than 76% of the vote, for a fourth six-year term.
However, Trump had to soon after the conversation, defend his phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said that getting along with Russia is a good thing, and not a bad thing. According to the Washington Post, citing officials it said were familiar with the matter, the call was made despite warnings from Trump's national security advisers, who provided a briefing which included a section that read "DO NOT CONGRATULATE".
"I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory (in past, Obama called him also). The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong! Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing," the United States President wrote on Twitter.
Trump also said that in the past 42nd US President Bill Clinton, 43rd US President George W. Bush, and 44th US President Barack Obama tried to get along with Russia, but lacked the "chemistry", "smarts", and "energy".
"They can help solve problems with North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, ISIS, Iran and even the coming Arms Race. Bush tried to get along, but didn't have the "smarts." Obama and Clinton tried, but didn't have the energy or chemistry (remember RESET). PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!," he wrote.
It was not clear if President Trump, who prefers to hear briefings, read the notes provided to him, according to sources. Multiple officials have noted that he often follows his own path during his calls with world leaders. The substance of the call was not seen as a major deal by national security staffers. The Kremlin said the conversation between the U.S. and Russian presidents was "constructive and business-like", adding that Russia hoped to "overcome problems" that had arisen between the two nations.
However, in his conversation with Putin, Trump did not raise Russia's election interference or its suspected involvement in the poisoning of a former spy on British soil, according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The former U.S. presidential candidate John McCain was quick to criticise Trump for his failure to raise allegations of widespread voter irregularities. "An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election to determine their country's future, including the countless Russian patriots who have risked so much to protest and resist Putin's regime," The Guardian quoted McCain as saying.
Trump's defence through his tweets came even as news filtered to U.S. news media that Trump was furious over the leak that he had not read the security briefing prior to the phone call to Moscow.
The leak, which one CNN report described as contributing to the ongoing atmosphere of paranoia in the West Wing, has irked White House aides and infuriated Chief of Staff John Kelly who is working to find out who the leak is. "This is unacceptable," the White House official said, speaking about the leak that some believe was an attempt to embarrass the President and National Security Adviser HR McMaster.
The furor over the leak comes even as McMaster's standing in the West Wing remains in question. After Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Twitter last week, speculation intensified that McMaster was next to be ousted.
The phone call also came just days after the United States imposed sanctions against 19 Russian nationals and five entities over Russian interference in the US elections.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2018 07:12 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).