The Trump administration has handled the 2016 election meddling by Russia in the most horrific manner, and the President’s own response has been so awful that even the most ridiculous scenarios seem like better options than what has actually come out from Donald Trump.
While Trump has continued to praise Russian President Vladimir Putin and believe every meddling denial that comes out of his mouth (despite the evidence), Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence has gone against him and made it clear that he feels very differently.
Last week, the VP had an impromptu meeting with the leaders of Russia and China while he was at the ASEAN summit in Singapore. According to the Washington Post:
Pence delivered messages on election interference, North Korea and the trade dispute, and also set the stage for big showdowns next week when President Trump meets the same leaders in Argentina.”
The Post reported that Pence told the publication about his own conversations with Putin during these meetings, one of which involved the Russian leader offering assistance to fight the California wildfires. As Pence recalls his meeting with Putin, the Vice President said he addressed Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. This is how Pence said it went down — and it’s pretty ridiculous:
I looked at him and I said, ‘We know what happened in 2016.’ And I said, ‘As the president has told you, we’re not having it.’”
Is this what “leadership” looks like now? No wonder this country is such a hot mess. Let’s not forget that Putin is still denying Russian involvement, and Trump is still believing and sticking up for Putin. Pence reported that after he said these words to Putin, he Russian President denied it, causing Pence to respond with yet another weak statement:
I’m very aware of what you’ve said about that, but I’m telling you we’re not having it.”
The sad thing is that despite how pathetic that Pence-Putin encounter seems, it’s still a far stronger message than anything Trump has sent.
Featured image via screen capture
