Earlier this week, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was more than a little surprised when, right in the middle of an interview at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, he was informed that the Trump administration is planning to invite Vladimir Putin to the White House.
It wasn’t the first time that Coats was caught off guard by the administration’s stance on Russia this week. Following Trump’s joint press conference with Putin in Helsinki (during which the President appeared to suggest that he was inclined to believe the Kremlin over the U.S. intelligence community when it comes to election interference), Coats said the following:
The U.S. intelligence community has been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy.
That was a response to the following comment Trump made while standing next to Putin in Finland:
My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me, some others, they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this, I don’t see any reason why it would be.
The next day, Trump claimed that he meant to say “wouldn’t” rather than “would.”
“It should have been obvious [what I meant]”, he told reporters, an absurd contention for “obvious” reasons.
Fast forward to Thursday and, at the above-mentioned Aspen Security Forum, Coats said this:
The White House was furious. Here’s the Washington Post:
Inside the White House, Trump’s advisers were in an uproar over Coats’s interview in Aspen, Colo. They said the optics were especially damaging, noting that at moments Coats appeared to be laughing at the president, playing to his audience of the intellectual elite in a manner that was sure to infuriate Trump.
“Coats has gone rogue,” said one senior White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide a candid assessment.
Now, Coats is out “clarifying” things. Here’s what he said on Saturday:
Some press coverage has mischaracterized my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview. My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president.
Yes it was Dan. Yes, it most certainly was and you were correct to laugh at the President because the administration’s approach to the Kremlin is just as absurd as it is inexplicable.
On the other hand, I suppose America should thank Coats for apologizing, because after all, if he were to get himself fired, God only knows who Trump would install in his place.
Vlad is laughing his ass off right now. Hang in there Dan.
Given the hysterical and out-of-control state of the US intelligence ‘community’, Vlad would be well-advised to stay away.
Incidentally, I wonder how many Americans outraged by the purported – but to date unproven – dabbling in their domestic affairs by another country are paying attention to Pompeo’s schedule for Sunday. Hypocrisy reigns supreme.
Comrade404,
Thanks for the confirmation that you’re not American by referring to Americans in the third person. That’s a great first step.
At this point, there’s really no doubt that Russia engaged in information warfare during the 2016 presidential election. Ironically, the denials of obvious Russian shill accounts like error404 only serve to prove that they’re still actively trying to spread propaganda through social media.