CNN's Chris Cuomo uses Trump's foreign election dirt comment to lay out a concise unified theory of Trump

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CNN)

published 13 June 2019

"So let's just be clear about this: The president said he would take information from Russia or China about an opponent in the next election," CNN's Chris Cuomo said Wednesday night, showing the relevant part of President Trump's interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "Are you really surprised?"

Trump's comments just reinforce and provide motive to what Special Counsel Robert Mueller found about Trump's campaign — and Donald Trump Jr. in particular — being eager to accept Russian help, Cuomo said. "So why would this president say this? Because he thinks he can, period. Remember, you who support the president, you acknowledge in polls he has low credibility, low integrity. This is not about ignorance, either: He's plenty smart and even more savvy. The truth is, he does not care about your rules — he never has."

And Cuomo laid what what you might call a grand unified theory of Trump: "He does not play by your rules, and he doesn't think what he is doing is wrong because he is doing what he thinks is right for him. That's his one rule: 'Do what is good for me.'"

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"We've seen his rule for himself in action so many times," Cuomo said, giving a sizable list of examples. "How many times does he have to show you who he is? But today, he may have said the wrong thing at the right time."

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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.