Trump plays golf in Scotland before Putin summit amid Russian meddling charges

[rooster59]

Trump plays golf in Scotland before Putin summit amid Russian meddling charges

By Alistair Smout and Jeff Mason

 

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he walks on the course of his golf resort, in Turnberry, Scotland July 14, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

 

TURNBERRY/GLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump played golf on Saturday at his course on Scotland's west coast ahead of a summit with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin that could be overshadowed by accusations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

 

In an uproarious trip to Europe, Trump harangued members of the NATO military alliance, scolded Germany for its dependence on Russian energy and shocked Britain by publicly criticising Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy.

 

Trump apologised to May for the furore over his withering public critique, blaming "fake news" and promising instead a bilateral trade agreement with Britain after it leaves the European Union in March.

 

While Trump took tea with Queen Elizabeth, a U.S. federal grand jury charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with stealing data from the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

 

Trump has repeatedly said the investigation into suspected Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election - which he casts as a "rigged witch hunt" - makes it hard for him to do substantive deals with Moscow.

 

Wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with "USA" for a round of golf, Trump at one point waved at dozens of protesters who were chanting "No Trump!" just a few hundred yards away from a beach beside his Trump Turnberry course.

 

He appeared to say something to them. They booed.

 

Describing golf as "my primary form of exercise", Trump tweeted: "The weather is beautiful, and this place is incredible! Tomorrow I go to Helsinki for a Monday meeting with Vladimir Putin."

 

DONALD AND VLADIMIR

 

Putin held several meetings in the Kremlin, including talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The Russian leader was due to attend the opera at the Bolshoi Theatre later and will watch the final of the soccer World Cup in Moscow on Sunday.

 

Trump and Putin, who control the world's two biggest nuclear arsenals, are due to meet in the Finnish capital, a venue that evokes memories of Cold War showdowns between the Soviet Union and the United States.

 

Trump, a 72-year-old former New York real estate developer who praises his own deal-making skills, and Putin, a 65-year-old former KGB spy who cultivates a macho image as a man of action, are due to have some time alone at the summit.

 

In the most detailed U.S. accusation to date that Moscow meddled in the presidential election, a federal grand jury said Russian military intelligence agency officers covertly monitored computers of Clinton's campaign and Democratic campaign committees, and stole large amounts of data.

 

The charges shine an even brighter spotlight on Trump's treatment of Putin, who has repeatedly denied that Russia sought to skew the election that Trump, a Republican, unexpectedly won.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to reporters before his departure to Helsinki on Sunday, pushed back at Democrats who called for the summit to be cancelled.

 

"I am confident that President Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin will put America in a better place. I think it's very important that they meet," he told reporters en route from Mexico on Friday, in remarks embargoed until Saturday.

 

"DEEP STATE?"

 

Trump questioned why Barack Obama had not acted on claims of Russian meddling if the FBI had informed the then president ahead of the 2016 election. He also asked where the Democratic National Committee server now was.

 

"Why didn’t the FBI take possession of it? Deep State?" Trump asked on Twitter.

 

When asked at a news conference on Friday whether he would tell Putin to stay out of U.S. elections, Trump said "Yes".

 

The president also indicated he did not expect much progress on the issue. "I will absolutely bring that up," Trump told reporters. "I don’t think you’ll have any 'Gee, I did it. I did it. You got me.'"

 

After tens of thousands of people marched peacefully against Trump in central London on Friday, a few thousand protested in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, were a blimp depicting Trump as an orange, snarling baby was raised.

 

A Greenpeace activist swooped on a powered parachute within a few hundred yards of the president as he stood outside the golf course's hotel on Friday evening. Trump moved inside calmly as the parachute approached, surrounded by his security detail.

 

British Trade Secretary Liam Fox said anti-Trump protesters were an embarrassment to themselves as they had shown bad manners to the leader of the free world.

 

Around 100 supporters of Trump, some wearing "Make Britain Great Again" hats, expressed their admiration for the president opposite the U.S. embassy in London.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-15

[BobBKK]

Let's be clear.  Both the US and RF hack, meddle and try to influence other governments.  When Trump raised this with Obama, Obama said "stop whinging it's impossible". 

 

Any meddling was on Obama's watch not Trumps and NO USA citizen has been indicted. All this 'reds under the bed' is noise and sour grapes and it's BORING. 

 

Vote in 2020 and try and get Trump out is the answer based on sound policies and sound arguments not this nonsense.

 

Who cares if they have found 12 spies/hackers?  happens all the time on both sides and it's been made clear it did not alter voting.  The other indictments are not linked to any collusion. Dems are really making themselves look utterly stupid. 

[stevenl]

6 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Let's be clear.  Both the US and RF hack, meddle and try to influence other governments.  When Trump raised this with Obama, Obama said "stop whinging it's impossible". 

 

Any meddling was on Obama's watch not Trumps and NO USA citizen has been indicted. All this 'reds under the bed' is noise and sour grapes and it's BORING. 

 

Vote in 2020 and try and get Trump out is the answer based on sound policies and sound arguments not this nonsense.

 

Who cares if they have found 12 spies/hackers?  happens all the time on both sides and it's been made clear it did not alter voting.  The other indictments are not linked to any collusion. Dems are really making themselves look utterly stupid. 

Some of the things you mention are your opinion. With most of it I disagree, but ok. But what you mention here, "it's been made clear it did not alter voting" is a fact, but unfortunately it is fake news, also known as a lie.

[mtls2005]

He missed a gimme, looked like he was going to wing his putter. Very poor etiquette to slam the putter into the green, but it's his so WTH.

 

 

Of course, he shot a "71".

 

 

[Boon Mee]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

He missed a gimme, looked like he was going to wing his putter. Very poor etiquette to slam the putter into the green, but it's his so WTH.

 

 

Of course, he shot a "71".

 

He'd probably like to wing his putter at CNN's Jim Acosta who is always interrupting him. 

 

[spidermike007]

When Tiny Don leaves the US, he simply cannot help but embarrass himself. He is dealing with men and women who are infinitely more educated, intelligent, sophisticated, and elegant than he is. He just makes it up as he goes, and nearly everything he says and does is uninformed, ignorant, dumb, bombastic, false, and poorly conceived. He is destroying the American economy. Just give him time. The one satisfying thing to come out of all of this, is that by the day, he is diminishing his chances of ever getting re-elected. The planet will celebrate his departure. Many of us hope he will depart utterly humiliated. If that is possible. Not sure is this huckster does humiliation. 

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"I am confident that President Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin will put America in a better place.

Maybe for Trump's base but with the Russian people it won't.

The poll by Russian Public Opinion Research Center concluded that only 10% of respondents have a favorable view of Trump, 20% had no opinion on the matter while 71% had an unfavorable view on the US president. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/07/14/poll-majority-of-russians-dislike-president-donald-trump/23482100/

 

[Redline]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

When Tiny Don leaves the US, he simply cannot help but embarrass himself. He is dealing with men and women who are infinitely more educated, intelligent, sophisticated, and elegant than he is. He just makes it up as he goes, and nearly everything he says and does is uninformed, ignorant, dumb, bombastic, false, and poorly conceived. He is destroying the American economy. Just give him time. The one satisfying thing to come out of all of this, is that by the day, he is diminishing his chances of ever getting re-elected. The planet will celebrate his departure. Many of us hope he will depart utterly humiliated. If that is possible. Not sure is this huckster does humiliation. 

Agreed. ?

[Bluespunk]

14 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 

Describing golf as "my primary form of exercise", Trump tweeted:

Yet you used a buggy to move around the course...

 

Like so much else you spout, a BS statement. 

Edited July 15, 2018 by Bluespunk

[Tug]

Think Malina Is going to apply for asylum in the ussr doesent like the orange jumpsuit traitor don is getting ready for suck fest at his boss Putin’s house personally I think he needs the express to Leavenworth they will leave the light on for ya!

[quandow]

On 7/15/2018 at 8:03 AM, BobBKK said:

Any meddling was on Obama's watch not Trumps and NO USA citizen has been indicted.

It's not over yet. Mueller recently acquired 200 blank subpoenas. There aren't that many Russians left in the U.S.  <sarcasm>

 

As well,  Republican Congressman has come under close scrutiny. It's not over yet . . .

 

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/07/13/florida-republicans-play-starring-roles-in-russia-hacking-indictment-510037

Edited July 16, 2018 by quandow
Added clarity

[Srikcir]

41 minutes ago, quandow said:

It's not over yet. Mueller recently acquired 200 blank subpoenas. There aren't that many Russians left in the U.S.  <sarcasm>

 

As well,  Republican Congressman has come under close scrutiny. It's not over yet . . .

 

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/07/13/florida-republicans-play-starring-roles-in-russia-hacking-indictment-510037

Nevins, another Republican consultant and blogger, separately became involved with Guccifer 2.0 when he saw news reports of its information and an invitation for reporters to get the hacked information. Under his @HelloFLAnews account, he direct-messaged Guccifer 2.0 on Twitter and on Aug. 22 received “approximately 2.5 gigabytes of data stolen from the DCCC,” according to the indictment. “The stolen data included donor records and personal identifying information for more than 2,000 Democratic donors.”

“Basically if this was a war, this is the map to where all the troops are deployed,” Nevins wrote Guccifer 2.0. “This is probably worth millions of dollars.”

This is a very disturbing acceptance of known stolen, valuable information not to mention obtained by a foreign power to be used for a political objective in US elections.

[sukhumvitneon]

23 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

When Tiny Don leaves the US, he simply cannot help but embarrass himself. He is dealing with men and women who are infinitely more educated, intelligent, sophisticated, and elegant than he is. He just makes it up as he goes, and nearly everything he says and does is uninformed, ignorant, dumb, bombastic, false, and poorly conceived. He is destroying the American economy. Just give him time. The one satisfying thing to come out of all of this, is that by the day, he is diminishing his chances of ever getting re-elected. The planet will celebrate his departure. Many of us hope he will depart utterly humiliated. If that is possible. Not sure is this huckster does humiliation. 

A diet of salt and sour grapes may cause posts like these

[BobBKK]

On 7/15/2018 at 8:11 AM, stevenl said:

Some of the things you mention are your opinion. With most of it I disagree, but ok. But what you mention here, "it's been made clear it did not alter voting" is a fact, but unfortunately it is fake news, also known as a lie.

Oh really?  so let's have your apology PRONTO!

 

There is no allegation in this indictment that any American citizen committed a crime. There is no allegation that the conspiracy changed the vote count or affected any election result.

 

Rosenstein

 

http://time.com/5338451/rod-rosenstein-russian-indictment-transcript/

[Chomper Higgot]

Greenpeace flying right through the game with that ‘Well below par”

banner was s stunning coup.

 

Trump directly exposed to protest, a hole knocked right through the security cordon, Trump on film huffing and puffing as he struggles to walk with his bodyguards.

 

Imagine the screaming and ranting that ensued.

 

A total embarrassment to Trump, to the police and to the ‘UK/US tightly coordinated security cooperation’.

 

Well done Greenpeace!