INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “On Tuesday [7-17-18], President Donald Trump said he was tripped up by a double negative. On Wednesday [7-18-18], the White House claimed he was simply declining to respond when he replied ‘no’ to a reporter’s question about whether Russia is still targeting America’s democratic government. Trump’s position on Russian interference in America’s elections has devolved into a game of semantics, with Trump loudly casting doubt on the assessment of his own intelligence agencies only to half-heartedly backtrack when his comments draw forceful condemnation, including from members of his own party. For the third day in a row, Trump and his top aides spent Wednesday clarifying the president’s remarks on Russia, attempting to breathe new meaning into comments that Trump made not in secretive closed-door meetings, but on national television or on Twitter for all to see. During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump was asked by a reporter if Russia was continuing to target U.S. elections. He looked at the reporter and said ‘no,’ adding that the United States, in his estimation, has been tougher on Russia than any of his predecessors. That assessment would contradict the U.S. intelligence community, including Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who has said Russia continues to target the United States.”
-Andrew Restuccia and Louis Nelson, “Trump plays semantics on Russian meddling,” Politico, July 18, 2018 4:43 pm