President Trump stunned the nation and the world during Monday’s summit in Helsinki when he refused not once but twice to denounce Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Russian Federation’s cyberwarfare campaign against the Democratic Party and their efforts to meddle in the 2016 election.
WATCH: @AP's @JonLemire asks Pres. Trump if he would "denounce what happened in 2016"
Trump: "I have great confidence in my intelligence people. But, I will tell you Pres. Putin was extremely strong & powerful in his denial today."
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— Washington Journal (@cspanwj) July 16, 2018
Now we’ve learned that not only did he refuse to give the answer to the question that the whole world wanted him to say, he’s now complaining about it behind the scenes, grousing that it was too tough and why someone else from a different outlet – meaning FOX News – hadn’t been called on instead of the AP’s Jonathan Lemire.
“Aides tried to explain to Trump that nearly any journalist would have asked a similarly pointed question in that moment” reports the Washington Post, but Trump was not satisfied.
He later appeared on CNBC and vented about the question, saying that “I had some of these fools from the media saying, ‘Why didn’t you stand there, look him in the face, walk over to him, and start shouting at him?’ I said, ‘Are these people crazy? I want to make a deal.’ ”
Trump’s constant attacks on the media are both part of a deliberate effort to discredit negative coverage of his policies, statements, and decisions but also the manifestation of his ego’s inability to deal with criticism or the slight hint of negativity directed towards him — and this latest meltdown is just more proof that he is entirely unprepared and unqualified to continue as the President of this once-great nation.