MSNBC’s Katy Tur left former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo stumbling by asking a simple question about Trump and Russian election interference.
Video:
Tur asked, “If Russia is such a threat, if the president believes that it is such a threat, what is he doing about it?”
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Caputo answered, “I’m not privy to that. I don’t work in this administration, but I do know from the results of the Obama administration, they did nothing either –”
Tur followed up, “I’m not talking about the Obama administration. The Obama administration has not been in office for almost a year, Michael…. The Trump administration is the one currently in power. What are they doing to make sure that Russia doesn’t successfully meddle or try to meddle in our elections in 2018? That’s a year away. 2018 or 2020.”
Caputo went back to the blame Obama well, “I’m not privy to that information. I do know that the recommendations that Obama administration’s gave were not followed by his own administration.”
The MSNBC host knocked that down too, “They were given at the end of the year. At the end of the year, right before Donald Trump took office, according to this Washington Post report.”
Trump’s own former campaign advisers can’t provide a single piece of evidence that Trump is doing anything about Russian election interference. If the press wants to help the American people understand the facts, this is the sort of questioning that is required.
The ongoing struggle that the Trump White House has been unable to overcome is the transition from campaigning to governing. Trump and his supporters still are trying to get by with the campaign tactic of blaming Obama or Hillary Clinton, but Katy Tur asked the right question. Trump is in charge now, so what is he doing?
The Russia scandal is more than a Trump problem, as the video above demonstrates, the scandal is also a Republican Party problem.
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
