Illinois Dems Blast Trump On Twitter After Summit With Putin
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One Illinois Republican joined a group of congressional Democrats, denouncing President Trump for refusing to acknowledge U.S. law enforcement and intelligence conclusions that Russia interfered with the 2016 U.S. election.
Following a day of discussions with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, Mr. Trump avoided holding Putin accountable.
"All I can do is ask the question - my people came to me, [intelligence director] Dan Coats came to me and 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 but I really want to see the server but, I have confidence in both parties," Mr. Trump said.
He went so far as to say that Putin's denial of having been involved in the election was "extremely strong and powerful."
The Democrats on Twitter called Trump's news conference "shameful," "disgraceful" and even treasonous.
This is from Sen. Tammy Duckworth:
It's difficult to overstate the damage done by Donald Trump's shocking & disgraceful show of weakness on the world stage. The strong global alliances & global belief in American leadership that he has taken just days to tear down over the last wk will take generations to rebuild https://t.co/r83JopDkPK
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) July 16, 2018
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-16th District) was one of the only Illinois Republican congressional members to criticize Trump, but did not mention him directly in this Tweet:
The American people deserve the truth, & to disregard the legitimacy of our intelligence officials is a disservice to the men & women who serve this country. It's time to wake up & face reality. #Putin is not our friend; he's an enemy to our freedom.
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) July 16, 2018
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st District) blasted the president for going to dangerous lengths to develop his 'bromance' with Putin.
Every second of this clip is a total and utter disgrace. #PutinsPuppet https://t.co/If6JyNuoVi
— Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) July 16, 2018
Rep. Robin Kelly (D-2nd District) said, "You just can make this stuff up."
I can't believe that I just watched the @POTUS publicly state that he believes Vladimir Putin (head of a hostile foreign government) over America's patriotic intelligence community. You just can't make this stuff up.
— Robin Kelly (@RepRobinKelly) July 16, 2018
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-5th District) tweeted the president has a "funny way of putting America First."
During today's #TreasonSummit, President Trump threw our nation under the bus in defense of 1) his own image 2) a foreign adversary who wants to destroy our way of life.
— Mike Quigley (@RepMikeQuigley) July 16, 2018
The President has a funny way of putting "America First." https://t.co/Bpl7cLUA7M
Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th District) tweeted agreement with former CIA Director John Brennan who said Trump's press conference "was nothing short of treasonous."
Thats def one way to put it. https://t.co/7L6pKPzVJY
— Rep. Danny K. Davis (@RepDannyDavis) July 16, 2018
Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd District) did not tweet directly on Trump's summit news conference, but retweeted this on Monday:
Protecting our elections from foreign interference is not a Republican or Democratic issue: It's an American issue, and it is absolutely vital for the health of our nation. https://t.co/pSrRddZBRl
— Blue Dog Coalition (@HouseBlueDogs) July 16, 2018
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-10th District) called Trump's performance "shameful."
Why does President Trump continue to side with Vladimir Putin over our intelligence agencies? He spent today's press conference attacking the United States and defending Russia. It was a shameful display that will only embolden Putin's aggression. #TrumpPutinSummit2018 https://t.co/DlhI4VNzdW
— Rep. Brad Schneider (@RepSchneider) July 16, 2018
Rep. Bill Foster (D-11th District) called it a sad day for democracy.
A sad day for the United States and our democracy. We will not tolerate meddling in our elections. @realDonaldTrump should understand that the interests of the American people and our country should be his only priority. https://t.co/1NDZ4vIKVt
— Congressman Bill Foster (@RepBillFoster) July 16, 2018
Prior to the end of the summit, Sen. Dick Durbin (D), said Trump plays into Putin's hands with tweets about the Mueller investigation.
This Mueller investigation, which the President calls a "rigged witch hunt," just produced the indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence members for an act of cyber war attacking our democracy. How is Putin supposed to take it seriously when Trump mocks the whole enterprise? https://t.co/htbWvoPkiq
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) July 16, 2018
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-9th District) : "This goes beyond incompetence and it borders on treason."
The President of the United States today publicly denigrated the U.S. intelligence community while praising one of the most adversarial foreign leaders in the world. This goes beyond incompetence and it borders on treason.
— Jan Schakowsky (@janschakowsky) July 16, 2018
Full statement: https://t.co/Eu1CkLBCpv pic.twitter.com/SphtzyehXh
Rep Luis Gutierrez (D-4th District) said he planned to redraft articles of impeachment against the president.
When I get back to Washington, we will need to consider adding additional high crimes and misdemeanors to our existing articles of impeachment.#twill #Helsinki #chicago #betrayal
— Luis V. Gutiérrez (@RepGutierrez) July 16, 2018
A second Illinois congressional Republican, Peter Roskam, did not issue a statement on Twitter, but emailed:
"Russia's interference with our democratic process is appalling and undeniable. The President has a responsibility to not only confront Vladimir Putin for attacking our democracy, but to use all tools available to prevent future acts of aggression that could undermine the cornerstone of our republic – free and fair elections."