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Russia probe findings offer re-election weapon for Trump


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Russia probe findings offer re-election weapon for Trump

By Steve Holland, Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton

 

2019-03-25T011017Z_1_LYNXNPEF2O01N_RTROPTP_4_USA-TRUMP-RUSSIA.JPG

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's conclusion that Donald Trump did not collude with Russia to win the presidency in 2016 gives the president a powerful weapon to use against his Democratic opponents and a potential boost to what is shaping up to be a tough bid for re-election in 2020.

 

Mueller's conclusion that neither Trump nor his aides conspired with Russia in 2016 takes away a central charge that Democrats have flung at Trump for two years - that he did not win the presidency fairly or cleanly. The allegations have played out on an endless loop on cable TV news shows, overshadowing Trump's presidency from day one.

 

Democrats have vowed to continue congressional investigations into the 2016 election campaign and Trump's business practices. But without the solid foundation of a Mueller report that found evidence of any crimes by the president, they now risk seeming to overplay their hand.

 

"This is a gold star day for Donald Trump," said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. "Now the shackles are off. He's able to demonize the news media and Democrats as perpetuating what he calls a hoax. And he’ll be able to use his innocence as fodder for the campaign trail."

 

The question for Trump now is whether he will be able to bring a minimum of discipline to his campaign messaging and to the presidency itself.

 

History suggests he will have trouble with self-discipline. Just last week, he was immersed in a strange fight with a dead man, sharply criticizing the late Republican Senator John McCain and falsely accusing him of being at the root of some of the collusion allegations against him.

 

He has also been prone to making baffling abrupt decisions, such as occurred last week when he called off a round of sanctions against North Korea before they had even been imposed.

 

Despite the Mueller report's conclusions, Trump remains an intemperate president, eager to lash out at any and all critics and perceived slights.

 

"This was an illegal takedown that failed," Trump said on Sunday, even though Mueller left open the question of whether the former real estate magnate had attempted to obstruct the Russia probe, which did find extensive evidence that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.

 

"Now is the time to get back on the offence on the economy and growth," said Republican strategist Scott Reed. "This is a good time to get back to a real healthy dose of message discipline for the entire administration, department-wide and the White House. That's what you do when something like this happens."

 

Trump, on a golfing weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, got the news in his private quarters at his Mar-a-Lago retreat from White House counsel Emmett Flood, and watched TV coverage of the Mueller report in his cabin on Air Force One.

 

Trump's initial comments in reacting to the Mueller conclusion suggests he is not inclined to move past the investigation.

 

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One for the flight back to Washington, Trump called for Democrats to be investigated, expanding on his often repeated assertion that the Mueller probe was Democrat-inspired. Mueller was appointed by Trump's Department of Justice in 2017 after he fired FBI director James Comey.

 

"It's a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," Trump said. "Before I even got elected it began, and it began illegally."

 

Trump's comments could foreshadow an effort by his supporters to seek payback for the cloud that has hung over his time in the White House.

 

"I'm interested in moving on and trying to get this behind us, but people have to pay for what they've done for the past two years," said former Trump campaign aide David Bossie. “We must investigate the investigators.”

 

CHALLENGES FOR DEMOCRATS

Trump's path to re-election remains a perilous one. Analysts say he will probably need to win the Midwestern states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, just as he did in his improbable 2016 victory, and Democrats are already pouring resources into those states.

 

Trump will foreshadow his campaign message on Thursday night when he headlines a "Make America Great Again" rally in Michigan.

 

Trump supporters viewed the Mueller report as a blow to the more than a dozen Democrats who are campaigning for their party's 2020 presidential nomination.

 

“This is very problematic for any Democrat who’s running for president in 2020 that was hoping they would face a weakened or beaten-down President Trump,” former Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said. “In fact, President Trump will likely see a ratings boost coming out of this and a strong tailwind pushing him towards the upcoming election."

 

Reuters/Ipsos polling has shown that Americans decided early on in Mueller's investigation whether they thought Trump was guilty of collusion or not. The polling found few undecided voters.

 

Brinkley said Democrats will need to adjust their tactics and emphasize their differences with Trump's record on issues ranging from healthcare and climate change to immigration.

 

"Some of those charges are going to have to rise to be the main charges against Trump," he said, noting there was fatigue with the Russia issue.

 

(Reporting By Steve Holland, Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Ross Colvin and Chris Reese)

 

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-25
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I can only pray that come the next election day that American voters do not make the same mistake again. Large chunks of the world view Donald Trump as an absolute disaster for the country and the planet. Never before has a president of the United States been so nasty, vitriolic, untruthful and unhinged. Giving him another four years would have to amount to gross stupidity.

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1 hour ago, webfact said:

“This is very problematic for any Democrat who’s running for president in 2020 that was hoping they would face a weakened or beaten-down President Trump,” former Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said. “In fact, President Trump will likely see a ratings boost coming out of this and a strong tailwind pushing him towards the upcoming election."

Exactly.

IMO the Dems had hoped the findings would not be released till after the 2020 election so they could use it against him. However, after Trump sacked Sessions I suspect the new AG had a hand in releasing the report now.

This is actually, IMO, a better outcome for Trump than if the investigation had not taken place, as he can use it to trash the Dems for their reliance on a possible outcome that would have benefitted them, which was obviously false.

Absolutely the worst outcome for the Dems.

Anytime they seek to investigate him over something else he can mock them with this one.

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1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Exactly.

IMO the Dems had hoped the findings would not be released till after the 2020 election so they could use it against him. However, after Trump sacked Sessions I suspect the new AG had a hand in releasing the report now.

This is actually, IMO, a better outcome for Trump than if the investigation had not taken place, as he can use it to trash the Dems for their reliance on a possible outcome that would have benefitted them, which was obviously false.

Absolutely the worst outcome for the Dems.

Anytime they seek to investigate him over something else he can mock them with this one.

The findings have not yet been released.

 

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1 hour ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

I can only pray that come the next election day that American voters do not make the same mistake again. Large chunks of the world view Donald Trump as an absolute disaster for the country and the planet. Never before has a president of the United States been so nasty, vitriolic, untruthful and unhinged. Giving him another four years would have to amount to gross stupidity.

Thanks to Mueller, Trump has the biggest gift he could have asked for, a clearance from a man that sought for 2 years to indict him of something.

What have the Dems got?

Trump is so nasty, Trump is rude, Trump is horrid.

555555555555555555555555

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22 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Thanks to Mueller, Trump has the biggest gift he could have asked for, a clearance from a man that sought for 2 years to indict him of something.

What have the Dems got?

Trump is so nasty, Trump is rude, Trump is horrid.

555555555555555555555555

Trump has what?

 

Let’s see it.

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5555  mentally sick dems have been lying for 2 years to the public as well as fake media cnn, wapo, nbc, abc etc mr. trump will pulverize them in the 2020 campaign.

thereto the dem party has degenerated into 1. antisemitism with muslims like omar and tlaib as well as 9 presidential candidates harris,sanders, beto fake lationo etc... boycotting aipc conference 2 socialism with top rated alexandria ocasio cortez for retarded remarks, impeachment clown waters, economic nonsense sanders.

 

wbr

roobaa01

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It is not completely over for Trump as Chomper correctly pointed above in post #4.  He may not be waltzing into 2020 untarnished by legal problems, e.g., Trump's problems with his foundation with the AG of the State of New York. 

 

Also, obstruction of justice does not seem completely off the table either.  One of the articles of impeachment against Nixon was such a crime.  We may not know the details yet, but that infamous Trump interview with Lester Holt of NBC in which the president admits he fired Comey over "this Russia thing" does not help Trump's credibility or, shall we say, sense of discretion.  Is he this clumsy when speaking alone with leaders of foreign powers?

 

Still, much can happen until 2020.   Yet, Trump did not seem to surround himself with the most savory of characters, e.g., Flynn and Manafort.  And, that meeting in Trump tower with that Russian lawyer and Don, Jr., et al., is, at best, really bad optics.  Even Bannon had some very unflattering things to say about Trump's people taking that meeting.  Secretly meeting with an old hostile foreign power like the Russians and during a presidential election!?  Sure, that would not arouse any suspicions.

 

Well, as Trump is fond of saying, we'll see what happens.  

 

PS, hey, Dems!  Don't forget the working men and women in the industrial Midwest, part of the old FDR coalition, this time.  Don't blame Trump, the Russians and whomever for that bad call.

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, helpisgood said:

PS, hey, Dems!  Don't forget the working men and women in the industrial Midwest, part of the old FDR coalition, this time.  Don't blame Trump, the Russians and whomever for that bad call.

The problem is that all of the Dem candidates have embraced the Green New Deal, whilst major unions have condemned it as being anti-labour.

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Essentially, I think Trump can respond to the report one of two ways.

 

First, he could maintain a sense of dignified but discreet outrage at having been unjustly accused. He could calmly explain his motivations and how they were misread and abused  in a series of warm and friendly chats on television, and then explain how it was best to get on with the business of the country and its challenges abroad from China and Russia. This scenario would likely play into his reelection, perhaps being a deciding factor.

 

Or, two, he could do a Mark Gastineau style sack dance, shove it in everybody's face, sound-off like a one-man band in a subway station and gloat. This reaction would probably further estrange suburban Republican women from him and assure a 2020 defeat.

 

Anybody want to bet on which one of these he will do?

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6 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

I can only pray that come the next election day that American voters do not make the same mistake again. Large chunks of the world view Donald Trump as an absolute disaster for the country and the planet. Never before has a president of the United States been so nasty, vitriolic, untruthful and unhinged. Giving him another four years would have to amount to gross stupidity.

I look forward to another 5 years plus of your so called disaster. The place is humming along quite nicely. I trust large chunks of the population will keep it that way.

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Just now, earlinclaifornia said:

This President has never ever been positive in his approval. Biden will soundly beat him. Choosing Harris or Beto O'Rourke will seal it. 

 

Just now, earlinclaifornia said:

This President has never ever been positive in his approval. Biden will soundly beat him. Choosing Harris or Beto O'Rourke will seal it. 

Amazingly given all the dirty tricks being used against Trump he has a good chance to win again.  He actually has polled above Obama for the time he has spent in office. You need to get your facts straight.  Biden will go down in flames he is too much an insider and quite a strange guy to say the least.  Beto looks stronger but he is set to self destruct as he is not the sharpest tool in the shed and people will see through the whole fake "beto" bs.

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2 hours ago, DoctorG said:

The problem is that all of the Dem candidates have embraced the Green New Deal, whilst major unions have condemned it as being anti-labour.

Let me rephrase that: The Democratic Party is about to fracture into a bunch of self-serving, ideologically identity politics driven fractions the will splinter the Party for years.  Then start disenfranchising, if not demonizing, older Democrats of European heritage who have been core party members for decades, especially Union members and suddenly you make a solid voting block of Democrats into either Independents or Conservatives who can no long back the Democratic Party platforms. 

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19 minutes ago, earlinclaifornia said:

This President has never ever been positive in his approval. Biden will soundly beat him. Choosing Harris or Beto O'Rourke will seal it. 

Trump's final approval rating before the 2016 Election was 38%. Dems have imported hordes of new voters from overseas but Trump's approval rating has grown considerably as well. It will be a close election. 

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8 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

I can only pray that come the next election day that American voters do not make the same mistake again. Large chunks of the world view Donald Trump as an absolute disaster for the country and the planet. Never before has a president of the United States been so nasty, vitriolic, untruthful and unhinged. Giving him another four years would have to amount to gross stupidity.

Rubbish.

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4 More Years, Baby!!!

During that time RBG will likely leave the court one way or the other with possibly two more replacements as well. After all is said and done, Trump will have nominated 5 out of 9 justices and remade the Supreme Court into what it should be. Thank Allah for that. This alone will drive the liberal progressives insane and I can't wait to watch the show.

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9 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

I can only pray that come the next election day that American voters do not make the same mistake again. Large chunks of the world view Donald Trump as an absolute disaster for the country and the planet. Never before has a president of the United States been so nasty, vitriolic, untruthful and unhinged. Giving him another four years would have to amount to gross stupidity.

 

should inspire the dems to do some absolute soul searching into the quality and salability of their presidential candidate(s). how could their candidate have been so bad as to lose against such a vile candidate.

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10 hours ago, webfact said:

This is a gold star day for Donald Trump," said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. "Now the shackles are off. He's able to demonize the news media and Democrats as perpetuating what he calls a hoax. And he’ll be able to use his innocence as fodder for the campaign trail."

This is a gold star day for American's who voted for change in the 2016 electoral vote! I disagree on the demonizing news media and dems,he might call them out on it though

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33 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:
36 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

should inspire the dems to do some absolute soul searching into the quality and salability of their presidential candidate(s). how could their candidate have been so bad as to lose against such a vile candidate.

Russian interference.

 

 

dems should hire them for next election

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4 hours ago, tlandtday said:

 

Amazingly given all the dirty tricks being used against Trump he has a good chance to win again.  He actually has polled above Obama for the time he has spent in office. You need to get your facts straight.  Biden will go down in flames he is too much an insider and quite a strange guy to say the least.  Beto looks stronger but he is set to self destruct as he is not the sharpest tool in the shed and people will see through the whole fake "beto" bs.

Wow are you off your meds?

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Actually, I think that this is good news for Democrats. Impeachment was never going to be a political winner. And Trump is by far the weakest candidate the Republicans could have.  Impeachment was just a distraction from the issues that affect Americans in their everyday life. And as the 2018 elections showed, health care and tax breaks for the rich proved to be big political winners for the Democrats. Trump's latest budget proposal in which he proposes to cut funding for health care gives them further ammunition. He's pulling the traditional swamp dwelling Republican trick of promising tax cuts will pay for themselves and, when they don't, proposing to cut entitlements. This is a proven winning issue for Democrats. That's where they should be attacking him.

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