Rachel Maddow Torches Trump For ‘Pouring Gasoline’ On The Russia National Security Threat

Rachel Maddow torched Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying under his poor leadership the United States is one of the few countries in the world not taking the threat of Russia seriously.

Maddow said Trump isn’t just asleep at the wheel when it comes to dealing with the possibility of future Russia attacks, but he’s pouring gasoline on the problem.

Video:

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Maddow laid out all the ways our allies have been fighting the threat of Russia and explained how dangerous the poor U.S. response is for future elections:

Meanwhile, our government is closing the sanctions office and thinking what else to stick in a goody bag for Vladimir Putin. Top Democrat on the foreign relations committee issued a report on what doing in Europe. Ben Carden commissioned this exhaustive look at the threat posed by Putin and action taken across the world to defend against it. With some positive results even though comparative inaction from our government in the U.S., not seen spending money that Congress said should be spent to counter the disinformation. If you have seen coverage, pull quote is that no president ever before has ignored a national security threat like this one. But think, having read the report, it’s worth noting that not only is our president not leading us to do the kinds of things other countries have been trying to do to put out the fire, in some ways our government has been pouring on gasoline and helping this thing burn.

It’s long been known that Russia was working tirelessly to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. The president still likes to cast doubt on that reality, but it’s widely accepted by the U.S. intelligence community, and any casual observer with a semi-functioning brain.

Over the past year, though, it’s become increasingly clear why Moscow was so adamant to have Trump in the White House: Because he is exactly the kind of Putin puppet that Clinton repeatedly warned voters he would be. The president’s repeated efforts to appease and ignore Russia, despite their constant aggression, are just further confirmation of that reality.

As Rachel Maddow said on Wednesday, Donald Trump hasn’t just let Russia get away with an attack on U.S. democracy – he’s essentially encouraging the next attack, too.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.