Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Tuesday dismissed the whole Donald Trump Jr. meeting controversy as "overblown" and lavished praise on President Trump and his son. "Look, I know Donald Jr., he's a very bright young man, he's a very nice young man," Hatch said, shortly after Trump Jr. released the email chain about his meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russia lawyer.
Hatch made particular note of the fact that "one of the things that endears" the president to him is how his children "all love him." "He divorced their mothers and they loved him," Hatch said of the president. "And it's impressive to me how dedicated they are to their father."
While Hatch had nothing bad to say about the Trump family, he didn't exactly endorse Trump Jr.'s choices. NBC News' Benjy Sarlin reported that when he asked Hatch if he too would take a meeting with a Russian lawyer promising compromising information on an opposing candidate, Hatch said he would not.
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