Real Donald Trump: What He Wants to Hide Not What the Country Deserves to Know

Donald J. Trump New Book Pending: “Art of Backpedaling”

“Hell yes, I believe you Vlad. You know how crappy 

our intelligence hacks are”

Wow – talk about Trump double-talking, backpedaling or whatever we choose to call his M.O. this take the proverbial cake – some prospective from Axios here:

Background: On Saturday November 11, Trump lashed out at former heads of our intelligence agencies, claiming there are plenty of reasons to be suspicious of their findings and dismissing them as “political hacks” (re: Russian interference in the 2016 election).

Then Trump told reporters while traveling with him to Hanoi that Putin had again vehemently denied the allegations. The two spoke during an economic conference in Danang, Vietnam. 

Trump danced around questions about whether he believed Putin but stressed Putin's denials, adding: “Every time he sees me, he says: ‘I didn't do that,’ and I believe — I really believe — that when he tells me that, he means it.” Trump then said it makes no sense for him to belabor the issue when Russia could help the U.S. on North Korea, Syria, and other issues.

Some of the Contrast:

Then former CIA director John Brennan said Sunday on CNN's “State of the Union” about Trump dismissing former officials — including himself — calling them “political hacks in an attempt to delegitimize” the IC (Intelligence Community) assessment that Russia interfered in the election.

Brennan said: “I think Putin is very clever in terms of playing to Mr. Trump's interest in being flattered. And also I think Mr. Trump is, for whatever reason, either intimidated by Putin, afraid of what he could do, or what might come out as a result of these investigations.” 

Then former DNI (Director of National Intelligence), James Clapper, also on “State of the Union” called the threat from Russia “manifest and obvious,” then added: “To try to paint it in any other way is, I think, astounding and, in fact, poses a peril to this country.”

Questions about whether Trump believes the assessment about Russian election-meddling have trailed him since January, when he said for the first time, shortly before taking office, that he accepted that Russia was behind the election-year hacking of Democrats that roiled the White House race.

Fast forward to Sunday, and now Trump is having to have it both ways about that Russian interference.

Trump now says (1) he believes the U.S. intelligence agencies when they say Russia meddled and (2) Putin's sincerity in claiming that his country did not, adding: “I believe that he feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election.” (Trump at a news conference in Hanoi with Vietnam's president), concluding: “As to whether I believe it, I'm with our agencies … as currently led by fine people, I believe very much in our intelligence agencies.”

Our IC’s long have concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help the Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. A special counsel's examination of potential collusion between Moscow and Trump campaign aides so far has led to several indictments against Trump's former campaign chairman (Paul Manafort and another top aide (Rick Gates) for crimes unrelated to the campaign, and a guilty plea from a Trump foreign policy adviser (George Papadopoulos), and multiple congressional committees continue investigating.

My speculation of the confab between Putin and Trump:HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday attempted to clear up confusion over whether he accepts Russian President Vladimir Putin's denials of meddling in the U.S. election last year.

At a news conference in Vietnam, Trump distanced himself from remarks he made on Saturday in which he suggested he believed Putin when he said there had been no Russian meddling in the election that took him to the White House.

The comments had drawn criticism at home because U.S. intelligence agencies have long since concluded there was Russian meddling.

"As to whether I believe it or not, I’m with our agencies, especially as currently constituted," Trump said at a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

"As currently led, by fine people, I believe very much in our intelligence agencies."

He was careful to make clear he sided with the intelligence agencies under his own leadership.

Former U.S. intelligence director James Clapper had told Reuters: "The fact the president of the United States would take Putin at his word over that of the intelligence community is quite simply unconscionable."

The Russian issue has clouded Trump's first year in office and his comments on Saturday were a distraction from his five-nation Asia tour.

Trump said he still believed Putin did not think there had been Russian meddling.

"I believe that President Putin really feels, and feels strongly, that he did not meddle in our election," Trump said, while adding: "What he believes is what he believes."

Trump said he was not interested in arguing with Putin over meddling and wanted to get on with Russia to work on world problems including North Korea, Syria and Ukraine.

Trump has called allegations of campaign collusion with Moscow a hoax. A special counsel, Robert Mueller, is conducting an investigation that has led to charges against Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates.

U.S. intelligence agencies have also concluded Russians interfered to tip the election in Trump's favour through hacking and releasing emails to embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and spreading social media propaganda

Putin to Trump: I didn't do anything to disrupt your election.

Trump to reporters: I believe Putin.

For anyone who trusts and believes Putin and Trump and their statements, then consider this scenario (purely my input):

1.  Suppose Putin actually did not did not disrupt the election process as he and millions of us say.

2.  That makes our intelligence agencies out to be a false pack of liars and incompetent boobs.

3.  Suppose Putin's is only to impact and see a total breakdown not of our electoral system, but of our total entire democratic system of government.

4.  Putin gains a valuable ally in Trump who now fully agrees with Putin and his honesty.

5.  What we see now seems to underscore that scenario is working. 

Just look at our total government disruption and clever devious PR war against anyone who goes against Trump and whatever he says or does and who does not trust him.

What do we call all this? Anarchy comes to mind damn quickly: Trump's way or no way.

Stay tuned – this ain’t over yet.

Thanks for stopping by.