Rep. Jackie Speier (D., Calif.) said Monday that President Donald Trump doesn’t give credence to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election because it delegitimizes his presidency.
MSNBC host Chris Matthews expressed confusion at Trump’s stance toward Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials of interfering in the election. Trump has given credence to Putin’s statements but also said Sunday that he believes in U.S. intelligence agencies, which have said Russia was involved in the election.
After going through this, Matthews asked Speier why Trump has a "bromance" with Putin, which he said is "resistant to change." Speier said Trump’s attitude is rooted in his election victory over Hillary Clinton.
"The bromance is something that has a lot to do with how he got elected," Speier said. "I think it doesn't fit his script if, in fact, we make the clear statement, which we already have, that 17 agencies—17 intelligence agencies—have said that Russia meddled in the election. But if they meddled in the election, then he is not necessarily the president of the United States, because it's tainted."
She also said Trump is drawn to Russian propaganda because he doesn't want his election to seem illegitimate.
"And so he doesn't want to be known as a tainted president, so he promotes this Putin propaganda that clearly is false," Speier added.