NYT interview reveals Trump’s frustration with Russia probe

World Today

In a sprawling 50 minute long interview with The New York Times, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed deep frustration with the ongoing investigations into alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election.  He also strongly criticized his Attorney General.

CGTN’s Jim Spellman reports.

Much of U.S. President Donald Trump’s frustration is aimed at U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an early support of Trump’s campaign. Sessions recused himself from the Russia case because of undisclosed contacts he had with the Russian ambassador.

“Well, Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job, and I would have picked somebody else,” Trump said in the interview.

“I think is very unfair to the president. How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks, Jeff, but I can’t, you know, I’m not going to take you.’ It’s extremely unfair, and that’s a mild word, to the President,” Trump said.

The White House said Trump still has confidence in Sessions, but these comments have led many in Washington to wonder if Session’s job is in jeopardy.

“I have the honor of serving as Attorney General. It’s something that goes beyond any thought I would have had for myself. We love this job. We love this department and I plan to continue to do so as long as that is appropriate,” Sessions said on Thursday.

The Deputy Attorney General who took over the case appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to lead the investigation.

“I have done nothing wrong. A special counsel should never have been appointed in this case,” Trump said.

Looking back on his first six months in office, Trump gives himself high marks.

“So the bottom line is this- The country’s doing well. We are moving forward with a lot of great things. The unemployment is the lowest it’s been in 16 years. The stock market is the highest it’s ever been. It’s up almost 20 percent since I took office,” Trump said.

But courts have blocked or limited his immigration ban; the promised border wall is still in the planning phases; and so far, Trump has not been able to get a healthcare bill passed. Critics on Capitol Hill are lashing out.

“So here we are, six months to the day, when the president was inaugurated. We are here with no jobs bill, no infrastructure bill, no tax reform legislation,” Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives said.


Jordan Tama discusses Trump’s revealing interview with NYT

A lot of questions rose, as a lot was disclosed during Trump’s interview with The New York Times. What was the motivation behind this? Jordan Tama, an associate professor from the School of International Service at American University spoke to CGTN’s Elaine Reyes and gave his opinions.