Having been fully briefed on the "intelligence" proving Russians 'hacked' the election - because how else could Hillary Clinton have lost? - president-elect Trump is starting to shift the narrative this morning to expose the establishment's blinkered warmongery for missing the bigger picture that could be possible...
Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only "stupid" people, or fools, would think that it is bad! We.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017
have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am President, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017
both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017
Of course, we can hear the spin now - "well this is exactly what a 'puppet of Putin' would say" - as a US president who seeks cooperation and not war must be a commie plant... or worse.
This follows the Intelligence Community's release of a declassified report that concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign to help Trump win the White House. As The Hill notes,
“Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump,” the report said.
Trump, who signaled throughout his presidential campaign that he was open to warmer relations with the Kremlin, has criticized United States intelligence agencies over reports about Russia's cyber activity.
Earlier on Saturday, the president-elect said that there is "no evidence" Russia's cyber activities affected the election outcome.
"Intelligence stated very strongly there was absolutely no evidence that hacking affected the election results. Voting machines not touched!" he wrote on Twitter.