Trump takes a big step back from tweet about forming 'cyber security unit' with Putin

President Trump spent his Sunday morning tweeting about "forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his afternoon being mocked by most people for saying this, and his night backtracking, declaring that just because he "discussed a Cyber Security unit doesn't mean I think it can happen."

Trump fired off several tweets in the morning about the G-20 summit and his one-on-one meeting with Putin, announcing that he "strongly pressed President Putin twice about Russian meddling in our election. He vehemently denied it. I've already given my opinion…" He went on to say that they put their minds together and came up with an idea to form an "impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking & many other negative things, will be guarded…and safe."

The response from Democrats and Republicans alike was swift and snarky. "Partnering with Putin on a 'Cyber Security Unit' is akin to partnering with [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad on a 'Chemical Weapons Unit,'" Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted, while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Meet the Press it was "not the dumbest idea I've ever heard — but it's pretty close." On State of the Union, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) thought the U.S. "might as well mail our ballot boxes to Moscow." There was one person who thought it was a fabulous idea — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who called the effort a "very important step forward."

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After dealing with jokes at his expense all day, Trump on Sunday night broached the topic again, this time saying he didn't really mean what he said just 13 hours earlier. "The fact that President Putin and I discussed a Cyber Security unit doesn't mean I think it can happen," he tweeted. "It can't — but a ceasefire can, & did!" He wasn't the only Trump to do a 180 this weekend — his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., on Saturday told The New York Times he met with a Russian lawyer in June 2016 just to talk about the adoption of Russian children by Americans, but on Sunday remembered that the lawyer also brought up Hillary Clinton during their discussion.