Facing condemnation from allies and foes alike on Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump was outnumbered even in the Oval Office. Top aides gathered to convince the president to issue a rare walk-back of the comments he'd made raising doubts about U.S. intelligence conclusions of Russian election interference as he stood alongside Vladimir Putin.
Vice President Mike Pence, national security adviser John Bolton and chief of staff John Kelly stood united in the West Wing on Tuesday in their contention that the commander in chief had some cleanup to do. They brought with them words of alarm from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as from a host of congressional leaders and supporters of the president for whom Trump's public praise of Putin proved to be a bridge too far.
Even for Trump, a leader who has increasingly come to cast off the constraints and guidance of aides, the him-against-the-world position proved untenable. Trump may like doing things his way, eschewing advice and precedent like no president before, but he never likes being alone.
Walking off stage with Putin following their joint press conference in Helsinki, Trump was riding high after his second summit with an adversarial leader in as many months. The highly choreographed affairs had been sought out by the U.S. leader as a way to boost his credibility abroad and his favorability at home, and he believed the latest one had accomplished the task.
But as Air Force One took off into Finland's endless sunlight on Monday night, Trump's mood darkened.
He told confidants in the days that followed that he was pleased with how his summit with Putin went, believing he had taken the measure of the man and opened the door to deals down the road on a number of thorny issues.
But that was not how it was being portrayed back home.
On the long flight back to Washington, the president began dialing around to allies and aides and started to stew about negative media coverage, even from usually friendly Fox News, according to five outside allies and Republicans close to the White House not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. Even U.S. intel chief in the dark about Trump-Putin talks
The reviews he received were muted Trump rarely takes kindly to direct confrontation but it was a taste of what awaited him on his return in Washington, where stalwart allies like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich were speaking out.
By the time he arrived home, the parade of critical statements had become a stampede, leaving Trump the most isolated he'd been in the White House since last year's controversy over white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville. Some in the president's circle saw parallels in the response to that incident, when the president walked back his August comments critical of "both sides" for protests in the Virginia city, only to later revert to his initial position that both white supremacists and their detractors shared blame for the violence.
Fucking Kelly and Pence can go fuck themselves.
*trump calls nazis very fine people* Kelly & Pence: ^_^ :^)
*trump calls certain minorities animals that infest and breed Pence: ^_^ Kelly: "They're lazy too! LOL"
NOW those 2 fuckers speak up?
because even Trump stans know this one was dumb as fuck ---
I could see you, but I couldn't hear you You were holding your hat in the breeze Turning away from me In this moment you were stolen...