Contradictions by Trump create credibility gap for aides
WASHINGTON — When the report burst forth alleging that President Donald Trump had revealed highly classified information to Russian diplomats, the White House quickly dispatched Trump’s national security adviser to declare that the story “as reported is false.”
By the next morning, however, H.R. McMaster’s pronouncement was undercut by Trump himself, making the aide the latest to face a public conflict with the boss in a White House where credibility problems are becoming an occupational hazard.
Yes, the president said, he had given information to the Russians. But there was nothing wrong with that, he insisted. In two tweets, Trump said the conversation with the diplomats was an acceptable way to provide facts related to airline safety and terrorism, and he declared he had “the absolute right” to share the details.
Still, the day-after accounts prompted questions about McMaster’s earlier comments on the story that was first reported by The Washington Post.