Trump under fire for defending Putin over poll meddling
Washington, July 17 : US President Donald Trump is facing a barrage of criticism for defending his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over claims of Moscow's interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
At a joint news conference with Putin following their summit in Finland on Monday, Trump refused to denounce the Russian leader for interfering in the presidential campaign and instead contradicted American intelligence agencies, the US media reported on Tuesday.
Russia had no reason to meddle, Trump said.
His remarks sparked an enormous amount of backlash from his critics, Republicans and Democrats, warning that his actions could ultimately hurt national security interests.
"The President must appreciate that Russia is not our ally," said House Speaker Paul Ryan. "The US must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy."
Russia is responsible for "ongoing, pervasive attempts" to undermine US democracy, said Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
Republican Senator John McCain, a key member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it was a "disgraceful performance".
"No prior President has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant," he said.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted that it was a "missed opportunity... to firmly hold Russia accountable for 2016 meddling".
"Shameful," tweeted Republican Senator Jeff Flake. "Bizarre and flat-out wrong," wrote Senator Ben Sasse in reference to Trump's separate assertion that both countries were to blame for their deteriorating relationship.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump's actions had "strengthened our adversaries while weakening our defences and those of our allies".
Former Vice President Joe Biden said: "... Our President had the chance to confront an adversary who has attacked - and continues to attack - our democracy and our allies. He could have stood up for American interests and values. He chose not to."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Trump's performance an "embarrassment". Former CIA director John Brennan said Trump's news conference "was nothing short of treasonous".
"Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???" he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Mike Pence defended the summit and praised Trump.
During the press conference, Putin offered to allow US investigators to visit Russia to question the officers regarding poll medding.
In a later interview with Fox News, he said it was "ridiculous" that some people thought Russia could have influenced the US elections.
Putin said the US-Russian relations should not be "held hostage" to an internal political struggle in America. He also dismissed longstanding reports that Russian intelligence may hold compromising material on Trump.
The Russian leader described the Helsinki meeting as "candid and useful" while Trump said there had been "deeply productive dialogue".
Trump said US-Russia relations had "never been worse" than before they met, but that had now changed.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
