Depending on who you ask, President Trump was either "happy" with acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney admitting on Thursday that President Trump used military aid as leverage to pressure Ukraine into launching an investigation into Democrats, or enraged.
Mulvaney made the jaw-dropping acknowledgment during a press conference, shortly after making another astounding announcement: that next year's G7 summit will be held at Trump's Doral resort in Miami. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman reported Thursday night that Mulvaney was told to break the Doral news because aides thought it would look bad if Trump did it, plus he could field a few Ukraine questions.
People with knowledge of the matter said Mulvaney was prepared to go "a certain way on Ukraine, but wasn't supposed to suggest a quid pro quo," Haberman reported. Trump apparently saw some of the press conference, and was "happy with how Mulvaney did and sent him that message," she added, but Trump's legal team was irate, and advisers told him that Mulvaney's admission was a major problem. Trump told his advisers to handle it, Haberman said, and Mulvaney worked with the White House communications team to come up with a retraction to his public admission.
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.
Two CNN reporters are hearing things a little differently. Shimon Prokupecz tweeted that Mulvaney only had a short briefing with White House aides regarding impeachment questions, and they "did not expect he would go as far as he did in describing the freeze of aid to Ukraine." His colleague Jim Acosta was told that Trump was "not happy" with Mulvaney's performance. If Mulvaney is out by Halloween, we'll know where Trump stands.
-
5 snappily written cartoons about vanishing food stamp benefitsCartoons Artists take on SNAP recipients, Halloween generosity, and more
-
The 5 best political thriller series of the 21st centuryThe Week Recommends Viewers can binge on most anything, including espionage and the formation of parliamentary coalitions
-
Sudan stands on the brink of another national schismThe Explainer With tens of thousands dead and millions displaced, one of Africa’s most severe outbreaks of sectarian violence is poised to take a dramatic turn for the worse
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
