INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
We should have had this dialogue a long time ago, says Donald Trump at the press conference (Reuters)Washington: Administration officials
had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Monday's summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladmir Putin would end differently -
without a freewheeling 46-minute news conference in which Trump attacked his own FBI on foreign soil and warmly praised archrival
Russia.Ahead of the meeting, staffers provided Trump with some 100 pages of briefing materials aimed at laying out a tough posture toward
Putin, but the president ignored most of it, according one person familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to
disclose internal deliberations
Trump's remarks were "very much counter to the plan," the person said."Everyone around Trump" was urging him to take a firm stance with
Putin, according to a second person familiar with the preparations
In advance of Monday's meeting, the second person said, advisers covered everything from Russia's annexation of Crimea to its meddling in
elections, but Trump "made a game-time decision" to handle the summit his way."I think that the United States has been foolish," Trump said
one point, referring to tensions with Russia
"I think we've all been foolish
We should've had this dialogue a long time ago; a long time, frankly, before I got to office."In the end, Trump's performance alongside
Putin in the Finnish capital seemed like a tour through his most controversial conspiracy theories, tweets and off-the-cuff musings on
Russia -- except that he did it all while abroad, standing just feet from Putin, the leader of one of America's greatest geopolitical
foes.The spectacle that unfolded in Helsinki also underscored Trump's eagerness to disregard his own advisers; his willingness to flout the
conclusions of his own intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S
elections; and his apparent fear that pressing Putin on the subject might cast doubt on his electoral victory."The president has been more
reluctant than most to weigh into the idea that Russia did it and they're still doing it," said Sen
"He felt that wouldn't undermine his own election."This account of the days leading up to Trump's Helsinki summit is based on interviews
with more than a half-dozen White House officials, advisers and diplomats, most of whom requested anonymity to reveal internal
discussions.Signs that things might not go according to plan were evident during the two days Trump spent holed up at his luxury seaside
golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland.Donald Trump said he directly talked to Putin about "the issue of Russian interference" in US
president spent much of the weekend "growling," in the words of one White House official, over his own Justice Department's indictment on
Friday of 12 Russian intelligence officials for interfering in the 2016 election.He fretted that the timing of the indictments was intended
to injure him politically, the offical said
He also made clear that he was more excited to sit down with the Russian president than he had been to visit with NATO allies earlier in the
week in Brussels."He loved the summit with Kim Jong Un," the White House official said, referring to the North Korean leader, who Trump met
"He thinks he can sit down eye-to-eye with these guys, flatter them and make a deal."In advance of the Putin meeting, White House officials
repeatedly told European allies "not to worry," according to diplomats familiar with the discussions
No deals would be made between Putin and Trump, they said, and no secret promises would be offered that could threaten the balance of power
on the continent.They also said the summit would have a declaration text that was short and generic.But the officials could not provide
similar assurances about the summit's live news conference, a setting where the president routinely defies the carefully-laid plans of his
White House team.One European official acknowledged the difficulty of relying on the assurances of Trump's aides, saying "these people don't
control the reality."Putin almost seemed unable to hide his own delight as Trump, standing just to his right, excoriated the FBI, Hillary
Clinton, and Democrats, among others, and said that he held "both" Russia and the United States responsible for the declining relations
between the two countries.Trump has grown frustrated that his own government has been so negative about meeting with Putin and wanted a
one-on-one meeting so it would not leak, aides said
One senior White House official described Trump's public remarks as striking a deliberately "contrarian" tone.Administration officials said
Trump's national security team -- including national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo -- has generally urged
him to be tough on Putin and view the Russian leader through a far more negative prism than he currently does.Trump's remarks in Helsinki
were met with widespread condemnation, including from many within his own party.Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats put out a
statement distancing himself from both Trump and his comments
"The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and
policymakers," Coats said in the statement
"We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our
democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security."As Trump flew back to
Washington aboard Air Force One late Monday, he and his team struggled to quell the outcry."President Trump must clarify his statements in
Helsinki on our intelligence system and Putin," tweeted Newt Gingrich, a steadfast Trump ally and former Republican House speaker, whose
wife Trump appointed ambassador to the Vatican
"It is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected - immediately."Trump issued a tweet that seemed to backtrack
"As I said today and many times before, 'I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people,' Trump wrote
"However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past -- as the world's two largest
nuclear powers, we must get along! #HELSINKI2018."And others rushed to Trump's defense
Barry Bennett, a former Trump campaign adviser, downplayed the controversy."I didn't think Trump was going to call him a liar to his face
after he denied it," Bennett said
"I don't think it makes sense to stand six feet from him and call him a liar."One of his most vocal defenders was Vice President Mike Pence,
who has cemented his relationship with the president through unflinching loyalty.In a speech to Commerce Department employees Monday
afternoon, Pence offered a rosy review of what he described as Trump's "historic trip" abroad."The truth is, over the last week, the world
saw once again that president Donald Trump stands without apology as leader of the free world," Pence said
"What the world saw, what the American people saw, is that President Donald Trump will always put the prosperity and security of America
first.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
