Trump Chief Of Staff Turned Into A Defenseless Mess When Forced To Admit Russian Hacking

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:46 pm

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Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, did everything he could to point the finger at the DNC but was eventually forced to admit that Russia was responsible for the hacking and election meddling during an interview on Fox News Sunday.

Video:

Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace asked if Trump accpets that the Russians were behind the hacking campaign. Trump’s incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus answered, “Well sure. He’s not denying that entities in Russia were behind this particular hacking campaign.”

Priebus went on to blame the DNC for the hacking by calling them sitting ducks. Wallace followed up by asking him who he blamed more, Russia or the DNC? Priebus danced around while Wallace had push, and push, and push before Trump’s incoming chief of staff would say the word Russia.

The exchange in the video above demonstrates why Trump’s Russia problem is not going to go away. The president-elect has constantly cast doubts on Russia being behind the hacking while trying to blame the DNC.

The part of the story that Trump and Priebus keep leaving out is that the RNC was also hacked by Russia. The New York Times reported that Russia also hacked the RNC, but chose not to release the data. The Republican talking point that the RNC didn’t get hacked is a lie. The RNC got hacked, but the Russians only released the DNC hack, because they wanted Trump to win.

Priebus’s messy answer when pushed was a sign of an incoming administration that has a ticking time bomb of a scandal on its hands, and no clue how to defuse it. Trump’s incoming chief of staff tried to cast blame on the DNC while not admitting that the hack was directed by the Russian government, not “elements,” but the government of a hostile foreign actor.

The Russia scandal is a lingering black cloud of the incoming Trump administration, and Priebus flop of answer failed to address doubts about the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency.

Jason Easley

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