Former national security adviser Susan Rice called the private meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin a “historic mistake,” lashing out at the lack of “aides” and “note-takers” present during their closed-door discussion.
“We have no idea what transpired,” Rice told George Stephanopoulos in her interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “And very predictably, the Russians are feeding their line of what happened. We are hearing no rebuttal or comment from the United States.”
[Related: US intel chief Dan Coats wishes Trump hadn’t met Putin alone]
The only person who accompanied Trump during that private, two-hour meeting was a translator, whom Democrats in Congress have tried unsuccessfully to have testify before lawmakers.
Without anyone else present in the room, Rice said the Russians are “dictating … the global public perception,” adding that the situation is “dangerous” for the U.S. because there is “no basis for countering” what the Russians claim was said.
The meeting, along with comments he made in deference to the Russian government about election meddling, elicited widespread criticism of Trump from both sides of the aisle. Trump told reporters that he didn’t see “any reason” that Russia would have meddled in the 2016 presidential election, breaking with U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Moscow was behind an interference campaign. The president later backtracked on his comments, saying that he misspoke.
Rice said the steps Trump has taken in building a relationship with Putin “have served Russian interests as opposed to U.S. interests.”
“There’s no inherent problem with two leaders, even from hostile countries, engaging in dialogue,” Rice said. “ I support that. But you must come prepared. You must come to advance the United States’ agenda, not to lie prostrate for the Russian agenda.”
The former national security adviser compared the disparity in the relationship between her former boss, former President Barack Obama, and Putin with that between Trump and the Russian president, arguing there is a clear contrast how the two presidents dealt with Russia in light of its controversial annexation of Crimea.
“Any American president should stand up for the United States of America, in the present and historically when meeting with Vladimir Putin,” Rice said. “It’s President Trump who has suggested that Crimea belongs properly to Russia and that he’d be prepared to consider some accommodation for Russia vis a vis Ukraine.”
