Donald Trump has attacked the publishing of an alleged Russian report and stated that it was “something Nazi Germany would have done”.
Referring to the allegations in the dossier, the president-elect described himself as a “germophobe”.
“Does anyone really believe that story?” he said. “I’m also very much of a germophobe by the way, believe me.”
He said the publishing of the report had been done by “sick people” and suggested intelligence agencies had leaked it,
“I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out there,” he said.
He called the dossier that makes salacious claims about him “fake news” and “phony stuff”.
“I think it’s a disgrace … That’s something that Nazi Germany would have done,” the Republican said days ahead of his inauguration.
Mr Trump acknowledged that Russia likely hacked the Democratic National Committee and the emails of other top Democrats during the 2016 presidential election, but defended his goal of better ties with Moscow.
“If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability,” he said.
- 1 What he said v What he meant
- 2 “I think it was Russian”
- 3 “Hacking is bad. And it shouldn’t be done…but look what was learned from that hacking”
- 4 “There’s a good chance I don’t” get along with Vladimir Putin
- 5 “In those rooms, you have cameras in the strangest places”
- 6 “It’s a tremendous blot on their record if they in fact did that”
- 7 “I won”
- 8 Trump: ‘Buzzfeed will suffer the consequences’
- 9 ‘We’re going to start building the wall’
- 10 Trump: Obamacare is a complete and total disaster
- 11 Trump ‘builds a wall’ between Trump organisation and the Trump presidency
- 12 Trump: ‘I’m very much of a germaphobe – believe me’
- 13 Trump supports allowing government to negotiate over drug prices
- 14 Donald Trump: “If Putin likes Donald Trump, that’s an asset!’
- 15 Trump: I think it was Russia behind election hacking
- 16 Donald Trump suggests intelligence agencies could have released alleged Russian dossier
What he said v What he meant
“I think it was Russian”
Donald Trump made the strongest statement yet that he has been convinced that Russia was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman. He did repeat his argument that too much attention is being paid to these hacks compared to other foreign-orchestrated cyber attacks but it appears that we’re now all on the same page as far as the culprit.
“Hacking is bad. And it shouldn’t be done…but look what was learned from that hacking”
Pointing the finger at Russia does not mean Mr Trump is upset that the hacking took place. He said valuable information about Mrs Clinton and her associates was gleaned from the hacks.
“There’s a good chance I don’t” get along with Vladimir Putin
Mr Trump is sticking to his guns. He says it’s a good thing that “Putin likes Trump”, and that it is important to pursue stronger relations with Moscow. If that relationship breaks down though, the president-elect said he will be tougher on Mr Putin than Mrs Clinton ever would have been.
“In those rooms, you have cameras in the strangest places”
Mr Trump denied that the most salacious elements of a dossier reportedly prepared by a former British spy could be accurate for multiple reasons. First, he has always been wary of hidden cameras when travelling abroad (“I’m a pretty high profile person, would you say?). Second, he’s “very much of a germophobe”.
“It’s a tremendous blot on their record if they in fact did that”
Mr Trump says it is a “disgrace” that information that should have been restricted to the intelligence community made its way into media reports. He did not go so far as to say it was leaked by top intelligence officials, but reacted angrily to the idea that it could have been.
“I won”
Mr Trump said the American people do not care about his decision not to release his tax returns, and possible conflicts of interest with his business, because they elected him president.
Trump: ‘Buzzfeed will suffer the consequences’
Describing Buzzfeed as a “failing” news organisation, Mr Trump states that it will “suffer the consequences” for releasing the alleged Russian dossier.
“As far as Buzzfeed which is a failing pile of garbage writing it, I think they’re going to suffer the consequences, and they already are,” he stated.
He then refuses to answer questions from Buzzfeed and CNN, branding them “fake news”.
Next question from the BBC. “That’s another beauty,” he states.
‘We’re going to start building the wall’
Mr Trump says he wants to start immediately on building the border wall between the US and Mexico.
He states that negotiations with Mexico on the funding of wall will begin immediately after he takes office.
He said Mr Pence is “leading an effort to get final approvals through various agencies and through Congress for the wall to begin”.
“Mexico in some form … will reimburse us,” he insisted.
Trump: Obamacare is a complete and total disaster
“Finally Obamacare!” Mr Trump jokes. He says it is the Democrats’ problem and “we’re gonna take it off the shelves”.
“We could sit back and wait and watch and criticise” in 2017, he says. “We are going to be submitting a plan – it will be repeal and replace, it will be essentially simultaneously… Very complicated stuff. We’re gonna get healthcare taken care of in this country.”
He states that Mr Tillerson is “brilliant”, and that: “I think we have one of the great cabinets ever put together, and we’ve heard that from so many people.”
Trump ‘builds a wall’ between Trump organisation and the Trump presidency
Mr Trump has said he is voluntarily handing over control of his business empire to his two sons Donald Jr and Eric.
No new foreign deals will be made during the Trump presidency, his lawyer, Sheri Dillon, has said, stating all conflict of interest issues will be resolved by these actions.
“The business empire built by President-elect Trump over the years is massive – not dissimilar to the fortunes of Nelson Rockefeller when he became vice-president, but at that time no-one was so concerned,” she said.
She said Mr Trump wanted voters to “rest assured that all of his efforts are directed to pursuing the people’s business and not his own”.
He had instructed her firm to set up a structure for his businesses that would “completely isolate him from the management of the company” and ensure “that the activities of the Trump Organisation cannot be perceived to be exploitative of the presidency”, she said.
“He instructed us to take all steps realistically possible to make clear that he is not exploiting the office of the president for his personal benefit.”
Trump: ‘I’m very much of a germaphobe – believe me’
The president-elect has said that on foreign trips – such as when he went to Russia with the Miss Universe franchise – he was always very aware of security such as hidden cameras in hotel rooms.
“I am extremely careful. I always tell [my people] be very careful, because in those rooms you have cameras in the strangest places -you can’t see them and you won’t know,” he said.
“You better be careful or you will be watching yourself on nightly television.”
Trump supports allowing government to negotiate over drug prices
Donald Trump just came out in favour of allowing the government to negotiate over drug prices. That is massive news for the pharmaceutical industry, and could have a significant impact on the markets.
The likes of Bernie Sanders have been pushing for a more open drug market for years, but it marks a significant policy shift for the Republicans if Mr Trump includes it in his healthcare plan. Sky high drug prices are a big part of what makes healthcare in the US more expensive than almost anywhere else in the world.
The Pharma lobby, which Mr Trump just said is too powerful, will fight him tooth and nail.
Donald Trump: “If Putin likes Donald Trump, that’s an asset!’
The president-elect is referring to himself frequently in the third person.
“If Putin likes Donald Trump I consider that an asset, not a liability because we have a horrible relationship with Russia,” he said.
“Russia can help us fight Isis, which, by the way, is number one tricky.
“If you look, this administration created Isis by leaving at the wrong time.”
He added: “I don’t know that I’m going to get along with Vladimir Putin. I hope I do, but there’s a good chance I won’t.
“And, if I don’t, do you honestly believe Hillary would be tougher on Putin than me? Does anybody in this room honestly believe that? Give me a break.”
He states he has no deals or loans with Russia.
Trump: I think it was Russia behind election hacking
Mr Trump confirms that he accepts Russia was involved in hacking the 2016 presidential election. However, he said Russia was not the only country hacking and that the Democratic party was “open” to hacking.
“Look at what was learned from that hacking: that Hillary Clinton got the questions to the debate and didn’t report it.”
He said that if “Donald Trump had got the questions and didn’t report it, it wold be the biggest story in the history of stories”.
Donald Trump suggests intelligence agencies could have released alleged Russian dossier
Mr Trump said the report was “released – who knows – maybe by the intelligence agencies… It should never have been released”.
He said it if was the case that intelligence agencies released the report, it would be a “tremendous blot” on their legacy.
He then thanked the news organisations who did not published “that nonsense”.
“I want to thank many news organisations – I have great respect for the news and freedom of the press and all that,” he said, thanking those organisations who did not publish the alleged report.
Mike Pence said it was an “irresponsible decision of a few news organisations to run with a false report”.
Source – Telegraph
Thank you for posting Vlad
Should wait and watch