Trump's aides reportedly wish he had denied being a Russian agent on Fox News


President Trump's weekend was spent "largely alone at the White House, irked by a pair of startling Russia headlines, and baffled that he's not getting more credit for staying put during the partial government shutdown," The Associated Press reports. Along with prolific tweeting, Trump called in to Fox News host Jeanine Pirro's Saturday night show. The decision to call into Fox News, with just a few hours' notice, "surprised his aides," AP said, and they had some regrets about his conversation.
Trump pushed back against a Washington Post report that he'd gone to great lengths to keep his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin secret, even from top aides, but "White House aides expressed regret that the president did not more clearly and forcefully deny being a Russian agent when asked by the usually friendly Fox News host, according to three White House aides and Republicans close to the White House," AP reports.
Pirro asked Trump if he is or has ever worked for Russia, pointing to a New York Times report that the FBI had opened a counterintelligence operation soon after his inauguration because they became concerned he was a Russian asset, witting or unwitting. "I think it's the most insulting thing I've ever been asked," Trump told Pirro. "I think it's the most insulting article I've ever had written, and if you read the article you'll see that they found absolutely nothing." He did not directly address her question.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In Sunday's Washington Post, columnist Max Boot took a stab, listing 18 bits of evidence Trump could be a Russian asset and concluding, "If Trump isn't actually a Russian agent, he is doing a pretty good imitation of one." At Politico, Strobe Talbott, a deputy secretary of state under Bill Clinton and a Russia expert, lays out his case that "Trump has been colluding with a hostile Russia throughout his presidency. We'll see if it started before that."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
AI is creating a luxury housing renaissance in San Francisco
Under the Radar Luxury homes in the city can range from $7 million to above $20 million
-
How carbon credits could help and hurt the climate
The explainer The credits could be allowing polluters to continue polluting
-
5 tips for building a healthy skincare routine for tweens and teens
The Week Recommends Social media is pushing overly elaborate routines for young skin
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders