Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire stood up in front of the world and asked Donald J. Trump whether he believes the FBI in its contention that Russia meddled in the 2016 election, or believes Russia. Trump obfuscated and at the end made it clear that he believes Russia.
Lemire then asked him:
"Would you now, with the whole world watching, tell President Putin, ‘would you denounce what happened in 2016?’ And would you warn him to never do it again?"
Trump responded that he didn’t see any reason why it would be Russia.
It is hard to listen to Trump and not come away believing that he is wholly owned by Putin.
Lemire also asked Putin if he had any compromising material on Trump. Putin, who seemed more than slightly irritated by the question, said:
“It’s hard to imagine greater nonsense, please get this rubbish out of your heads.”
It is noteworthy how Putin did not actually deny the question.
To see Jonathan Lemire confront Putin, it is hard to not imagine that if he were Russian he would be in jail tonight, or in a more dire circumstance. This is the type of leader Trump admires.
This was a disaster of a press conference, while the entire world watched. Lemire did what I have waited for more than a year and a half to see done, a reporter asking a pointed question to Donald Trump and watch him squirm and lie before the world.
Throughout the joint press conference with Vladimir Putin, Trump smiled and nodded his head to signal agreement with the Russian president, especially when Putin challenged U.S. intelligence regarding his meddling in the 2016 election.
I have no doubt Robert Mueller paid close attention to Trump’s answers. This will certainly be a moment for the books.
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan captured the flavor quite well.