Ex-con Don Blankenship thinks Trump did an awesome job with Putin

President Trump's Monday comments in Helsinki didn't earn him much support from longstanding critics, nor from fellow GOP leaders. But at least the president still has Don Blankenship on his side.
"Trump did a great job today," tweeted the former West Virginia Senate candidate. "Most national media commentary on it is ignorant and un-American."
Most national media commentary — much of it focused on quoting exact words from Trump's joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin — has pointed out just how unprecedented it is for a U.S. president to side with Russia over the American intelligence community. What's un-American to Blankenship, apparently, is calling Trump's performance anything but "great."
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Blankenship, who once boasted that he was "Trumpier than Trump," often backs the president on Twitter, saying that Trump is right and the rest of the GOP is wrong. While the former coal tycoon must be used to flying solo in his unpopular opinions by now, he may find himself especially alone in this particular case.
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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