During his interview with NBC News’s Lester Holt, President Donald Trump showed signs of mental instability when he claimed that the allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia are a made up plot by Democrats.
Video of the extended Trump interview:
When asked about collusion with Russia, Trump said, “I think that looking into me and my campaign. This was set up by Democrats. Look, I had nothing to do. There was no collusion between me, my campaign, and the Russians. The other thing is that the Russians did not affect the vote.”
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Trump claimed that the allegations of collusion are a Democratic plot, but he also claiming that Russian election interference did not affect the vote, which is Trump’s way of saying that his campaign’s collusion with Russia was no big deal because it didn’t impact the outcome of the election.
The problem with Trump’s answer is that it can’t be both that the collusion is a Democratic plot and that potential Russia election interference for Trump did not impact the outcome. It is agreed upon by everyone outside of Trump world that the Russians interfered in the election. Russian efforts to help Trump influenced the outcome of the vote through the spread of pro-Trump fake news, the media coverage generated by the Russian Clinton email hack, and the propaganda campaign from Russia against Clinton.
Trump’s answer on the collusion question was crazy, and it was symptomatic of a president who doesn’t seem to be all there psychologically. Trump’s blaming of Democrats is irrational and a sign of a man whose questionable mental state could be eroding even more under the pressure of the scandal.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
