Trump is wasting no time whatsoever in doubling down on his ‘Putin policy’ of making Russia an ally.
He’s reportedly just asked Bolton to invite Putin to the White House this fall:
#BREAKING: Trump has asked his national security adviser to invite Putin to the White House in the fall. https://t.co/ksL2HHGLHr
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) July 19, 2018
BOSTON GLOBE – President Donald Trump has asked national security adviser John Bolton to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington in the fall.
That’s the latest update Thursday from White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders following Trump’s meeting with Putin earlier this week in Finland.
Sanders says “those discussions are already underway” for a fall meeting between the two presidents.
It presumably would take place at the White House, but Sanders did not say where Trump and Putin would meet.
In a tweet about Putin earlier Thursday, Trump said, “I look forward to our second meeting.”
First he invites Kim Jong Un and now he’s inviting Putin.
Trump was criticized by some on the right for even having the meeting with Putin:
Trump's kowtowing to Putin on election meddling was shameful. But the whole idea of meeting with Putin was wrong. He is a thug, an aggressor who annexes other countries' territory and assassinates people in Western cities. We do not need better relations with thugs.
— Andy McCarthy (@AndrewCMcCarthy) July 16, 2018
I can’t imagine what McCarthy will say to this invite, especially in the face of warnings from Dan Coats that the Russian government is the biggest country attacking us right now in cyber warfare. Wow.
I should point out that I know the reporting presumes the White House, as does the Boston Globe in their tweet. I would agree with that, as I seriously doubt Trump would invite Putin all the way to Washington and not invite him to the White House.
I should also note that Democrats are going to lose their minds over this. They are already upset that Trump met with Putin privately. This will send their outrage fest into overdrive. Part of me thinks that this is the sole reason Trump did this, just to make Democrats go berserk.
UPDATE: Here’s the tweet by Sarah Sanders:
In Helsinki, @POTUS agreed to ongoing working level dialogue between the two security council staffs. President Trump asked @Ambjohnbolton to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) July 19, 2018