Donald Trump Is Putin’s ‘Ideal American President,’ Says Adam Schiff
Donald Trump faced serious allegations regarding Russian interference in the United States elections from Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California. The congressman appeared on MSNBC and leveled some serious accusations at the president, and he noted that Trump is Vladimir Putin’s choice.
Schiff said that the president is not attempting to deter the Russians from helping him win the 2020 election. He went even further and asserted that Trump encouraged the country led by Putin to help him secure a win in November. He spoke about a classified briefing that some members of Congress have read that showed the foreign actors attempting to sway the upcoming vote. Those include China, Iran, and Russia, according to a PBS News Hour report. William Evanina, a top U.S. intelligence official, released the information last week about external entities working to ensure their preferred choice in U.S. leaders is elected later this year.
Schiff said that Russia’s actions are different than those of the Chinese and Iranians, and he urged lawmakers to hold them accountable.
“Donald Trump has clearly not deterred the Russians from engaging. They’re at it again. If anything, I think that the sum total of the president’s words and actions is to encourage the Russians to help him, but if we call them out on it, if we hold them accountable, then we can nonetheless provide a deterrent.”
Donald Trump has never deterred Russia from interfering in U.S. elections.
Far from it.
The sum total of Trump's words and actions has only encouraged Russian meddling in our elections.
Insecure, unscrupulous and transactional, Trump is Putin’s ideal American president. pic.twitter.com/x61qph1Z95
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) August 10, 2020
However, Schiff noted that the intelligence community tried to blur the line between what Russia is doing versus what Iran and China have attempted to do. The congressman also outlined several actions and words from Trump that show he is encouraging Putin to continue with the efforts because the president refuses to call out the foreign country for its activities.
“Putin views Donald Trump, even in the absence of anything more, as the most pro-Russian president we’ve ever had.”
Schiff listed all the things that Trump has done that has helped the former cold war enemy of the U.S. during his time in office, including undermining NATO, withholding arms from Ukraine, paving the way for Russia in Syria, and more. He described Trump as purely transactional and only in it for what’s the best for him instead of what is the best for America. Ultimately, President Trump is Putin’s “ideal American president,” according to Schiff.
By calling into question the legitimacy of the upcoming election before even one ballot is cast, especially when it comes to mail-in voting, Schiff alleged that Trump is undermining the vote, which gives Russia an excellent avenue for amplifying misinformation and sowing chaos. Ultimately, the lawmaker said that the information the American public is receiving about foreign election interference is that it elevated China to keep it consistent with the president’s narrative. He called that a disservice and called for the government to tell the American people the truth about what is going on with the countries working to effect changes in the upcoming presidential voting. He encouraged intelligence officials to let people know the whole truth before, rather than after, they cast their votes in November.
