Advertisement

Trump: My son’s Russian collusion doesn’t matter because Hillary Clinton broke debate rules

It seems the president doesn’t know what ‘illegal’ means.

Donald Trump Jr. on Fox News, July 11, 2017. CREDIT: AP Phono/Richard Drew
Donald Trump Jr. on Fox News, July 11, 2017. CREDIT: AP Phono/Richard Drew

President Donald Trump took to Twitter early Sunday morning with perhaps his most bizarre false equivalency yet, delivering his latest dismissal of the allegations that his campaign illegally colluded with Russia to win the 2016 elections.

Trump defended his son Donald “Don” Trump Jr., who released emails Tuesday that showed the Trump campaign took a meeting with multiple Russians after being told they had “very high level and sensitive information” on their opponent. The information was “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Trump’s argument now: It’s unfair that Don is being “scorned” by the media because Hillary Clinton may have violated the rules in a March 2016 Democratic debate.

The Trump administration has variously denied every meeting with Russians, dismissed its importance, claimed Trump didn’t know about it, and admitted he may have.

Advertisement

While stolen emails published by WikiLeaks did reveal that a then-CNN contributor Donna Brazile gave Clinton’s campaign a heads-up about some debate questions, it is a novel concept to suggest that this was somehow illegal. Moreover, a senior aide to her chief primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), has confirmed that Brazile routinely helped both campaigns.

The greatest irony is that if Trump believes that breaking primary debate rules is illegal and equal to collusion with foreign governments, he too is guilty. Trump repeatedly broke GOP debate rules, consulting with his campaign manager during commercial breaks.

Trump continues to focus much of his time as president attacking his 2016 general election opponent and the media’s coverage of his presidency. A CNN analysis from last month found he has tweeted attacks on the media more than he’s mentioned jobs or the military and veterans.