So what's the classic Trump tactic when attacked?
Counterattack. Dismissal. Slogan.
And how did Team Trump respond to the reports that the CIA believes that Russia intentionally interfered with the 2016 election so as to get Trump elected? Let me paraphrase:
The CIA is always wrong!
I'ts a moot point because the election is over. Oh, and Donald Trump won with such a yuge margin!
Make America Great Again!
Nothing to address the actual charges, or what evidence may have been presented, or anything like that.¹ Facts are annoying and not all that important when you can get your victory rallies chanting your name without them.
It's almost childish in its scorn.
Doyce dissects some other nuances in his comments on the story below. I'll just add this, a link to the CIA report pre-war about Iraq and WMDs: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/03/cia-iraq-bush-wmd-report. While not utterly dismissive of the notion, the report is full of major caveats and notations of lack of evidence for some of the more major claims — which caveats were conveniently filed off when the Bush Administration used it by reference as a justification for war.
Y'know — ignoring inconvenient evidence. Just like the incoming Administration looks to be setting up as its MO.
——
¹ Not that CIA is infallible. But simply dismissing the (leaked) analysis because, y'know, we don't want to hear it is maddeningly obtuse and/or disingenuous.
Originally shared by +Doyce Testerman:
Trump is a Liar. His Transition Team is Composed of Liars.
This is not "news", but it must still be noted, every time, in part because they base their decisions on those same lies.
President-elect Donald Trump's transition team was dismissive of the CIA in a response to a Washington Post report that the agency had found in a secret assessment that Russian actors sought to boost Trump in the election.
"These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," [read] the statement. "The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It's now time to move on and 'Make America Great Again.'"
Okay, you swarmy, smarmy fuckers: let's break this down, because literally everything you said is a lie, and I'm in a bad mood.
1. It was George W. Bush’s White House that claimed to be convinced that Iraq had WMDs, not CIA intelligence officers.
2. The election was a month ago — we’re still closer to election day than we are to Trump’s first day in office.
3. Trump lost the popular vote by almost 3 million votes.
4. His Electoral College win ranks 46th out of 58 in American history.
Also, if you read their statement (that single paragraph is literally the entire response to a foreign state successfully acting to alter our country's presidential election) you'll notice they don't even claim the report is false — it's that is doesn’t matter.
And the best part: One of the people who did claim Iraq had WMDs was John Bolton, Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security at that time.
Trump’s team is considering Bolton for Deputy Secretary of State, serving directly behind an Exxon exec with ties to Russia so flagrant even Republicans are shaking their heads.
So:
* Trump’s team says the people who claimed Iraq had WMDs in 2002 have no credibility on matters of foreign intelligence.
* … and are considering one of the people who actually said that as second-in-command at the State Department.Top. Notch. Thinking.
Trump Disses CIA In Response To Report On Russian Electoral Interferences
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team was dismissive of the CIA in a response to a Washington Post report that the agency had found in a secret assessment that Russian actors sought to boost Trump in the election.“These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction,” the statement. “The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It’s now time to move on…
