Trump Finally Tweets Some Good Advice for Himself on Russia Probe

“Sorry.”

Chris Kleponis/ZUMA

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After indulging in his usual habit of blasting the special counsel’s Russia investigation as a “Rigged Witch Hunt” in a series of early-morning tweets, President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to briefly acknowledge that there might be better ways to spend his time. In a follow-up tweet, the president sarcastically apologized, before listing more consequential policy items, such as North Korea nuclear negotiations and the still-vacant Veterans Affair secretary post, that require his attention.

Despite the quasi-admission on Tuesday, Trump is unlikely to quit his near-obsessive tweets railing against special counsel Robert Mueller and the investigation into ties between his campaign and Russia. Nor is it probable that Trump will abandon conspiracy theories designed to undercut investigators.

The president’s latest false narrative—that an FBI informant illegally spied on his presidential campaign for political purposes—is likely to stick around for a while, after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last week agreed to expand an existing investigation to look into Trump’s allegation. The decision was roundly criticized for indulging Trump’s deliberate misrepresentations. 

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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