Trump reacted Saturday during a telephone interview broadcast on Fox News Channel after host Jeanine Pirro asked whether he is currently or has ever worked for Russia.
“I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” he said. “I think it’s the most insulting article I’ve ever had written, and if you read the article you’ll see that they found absolutely nothing.” Trump, however never directly denied the claim, a fact which quickly became a Twitter meme. ( www.haaretz.com/… [emphasis added]
Jennifer Rubin quickly picked up on this: No president has ever been asked: Are you a Russian agent?
we saw Trump refuse to flat-out deny he was a Russian agent when asked by Fox News gadfly Jeanine Pirro.
Rubin points to a lot of evidence why Trump really might be a Russian agent, but this part jumped out at me. Trump has flat-out denied all kinds of things that turned out to be true (sometimes within the hour); lying to him is like breathing. And he had to have known this question would be coming, even if it came from a sycophantic Fox News host.
Other media besides Haaretz also noticed:
though so far in the major US media, it seems to be mainly Rubin for now.
So why didn’t he deny it this time?
- Maybe it was a Freudian slip under pressure.
- Maybe he feels the walls closing in.
- Maybe his conscience was getting to him. Nah.
Trump has always been his own worst enemy when it comes to opening his mouth. He has given Mueller so much free information through unforced errors it’s no wonder Mueller decided he didn’t need to interview Trump.
But this one may end up being a sign that we’re coming up to the end game.