HELSINKI--Standing side by side with Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump refused on Monday to blame the Russian leader for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, casting doubt on the findings of his own intelligence agencies and sparking a storm of criticism at home.
On a day when he faced pressure from critics, allied countries and even his own staff to take a tough line, Trump spoke not a single disparaging word in public about Moscow on any of the issues that have brought relations between the two powers to the lowest ebb since the Cold War. Instead, he denounced the "stupidity" of his own country's policies, especially the decision to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. Just three days ago, the U.S. Justice Department announced an indictment of 12 Russian spies for hacking into Democratic Party computer networks.
Trump's handling of a joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki stirred a wave of condemnation in the United States, where the White House has struggled for months to dispel a suggestion that Trump was unwilling to stand up to Russia. His performance was denounced as "treasonous" by a former CIA chief, and U.S. Senator John McCain called the meeting with Putin a "tragic mistake," although some other Republicans were more cautious.
Asked if he believed U.S. intelligence agencies, which concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in an effort to help him defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Trump said he was not convinced it was Moscow. "I don't see any reason why it would be," Trump said. "President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today."
Dan Coats, Trump's director of national intelligence, made clear he did not share the president's view. "We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security."
Some career diplomats also expressed alarm. Bill Burns, a former U.S. deputy secretary of state and ambassador to Russia, said in a telephone interview: "I have ... seen a lot of performances by presidents on the world stage, but I cannot think of one that was more appalling than this one."
Hours after the Helsinki summit, Trump tweeted: "I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people. However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past - as the world's two largest nuclear powers, we must get along!"
Before the summit even began, Trump blamed his own country for the deterioration in relations. "Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!" he said on Twitter.
The Russian Foreign Ministry tweeted back: "We agree".
At the news conference, Trump was invited by reporters to offer any criticism of Russia, but he repeatedly declined. Asked if Russia was at all to blame for the poor ties, he said: "I hold both countries responsible. I think the U.S. has been foolish. We’ve all been foolish," he said, before veering into a discussion about his election victory.
"I beat Hillary Clinton easily and frankly we beat her ... we won that race and it’s a shame that there can be even a little bit of a cloud over it," he said.
Trump's warm words for Russia were a marked contrast from the past week when he repeatedly rebuked traditional U.S. allies at a summit of NATO and during a visit to Britain. Asked if Putin was an adversary, he said: "Actually I called him a competitor, and a good competitor he is, and I think the word competitor is a compliment."
Trump also refrained from publicly criticizing Russia's 2014 seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region, another geopolitical win for Putin against Western efforts to isolate him.
