Foreign

Trump meeting with Putin a ‘historic mistake,’ – ex-National Security Adviser

Published

6 years ago

July 22, 2018

President Barack Obama ’ s former national security adviser , Susan Rice , on Sunday called President Trump ’ s lengthy one -on -one meeting last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin a “ historic mistake . ”
“ It was a historic mistake to allow the president of the United States — not just Donald Trump , but any president , frankly — to sit for two hours without any notetakers , without any aides present , with one of the most adversarial leaders in the world , relative to the United States , ” she said .

Predictably , Rice charged , Russia has been able to use the off – the- record meeting for propaganda purposes .

“ Russia is dictating the global public perception of what transpired in that meeting , and we have no basis for countering it , ” Rice told ABC ’ s “ This Week . ”

“ It ’ s a very , very uncomfortable and indeed dangerous situation for the United States to be in , ” she added . “ We are left to wonder — and even the president’ s Cabinet members are left to wonder — what exactly happened . ”

“ He ’ s taken a series of steps that , had Vladimir Putin dictated them , he couldn ’ t have mirrored more effectively , ” Rice said . “ What his motivations are I think is a legitimate question … but the policies that this president has pursued globally have served Vladimir Putin’ s interests . ”

Trump ’ s meeting with Putin in Helsinki , Finland, on Monday — and his apparent equivocation as to whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election — drew bipartisan condemnation . Trump later said he had misspoken when he said that he didn ’ t see why it “ would ” be Russia that had attempted to interfere in the election .

“ There ’ s no inherent problem with two leaders , even from hostile countries , engaging in dialogue , ” Rice said . “ I support that . But you must come prepared . You must come to advance the United States ’ agenda , not to lie prostrate for the Russian agenda . ”

Rice , who advised President Obama during his administration ’ s negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal , notably requested to unmask the names of Trump transition officials caught up in electronic surveillance in the months prior to his election .

( ThisWeekABC )