Former CIA Director John Brennan told NBC's Meet The Press host Chuck Todd that Trump "ceded" too much power to Putin, adding, “He said it’s an honor to meet the individual who carried out the assault on our election? To me, it’s a dishonorable thing to say.”
Trump went Twitter happy again this morning including:
Todd asked, "Do you interpret this as President Trump taking the word of Vladimir Putin over the word of the--America's intelligence community?"
Brennan replied, "Well, it certainly indicates he doesn't take the word of the intelligence community and that's what he's been doing repeatedly, in terms of his public comments."
When asked by Todd to further elaborate on Trump's words overseas, Brennan said, "I don't think he demonstrates good negotiating skills when it comes to Mr. Putin. Again, two days before in Warsaw, he gives Mr. Putin the opportunity to point to the failures of U.S. intelligence. To me, I think he ceded that ground."
He continued, "And also, right before he met with Mr. Putin and talked with him at some length, which I'm glad he did, he said it's an honor to meet President Putin. An honor to meet the individual who carried out the assault against our election? To me, it was a dishonorable thing to say."
You'd expect Brennan to defend the intelligence community at large, but his words were particularly caustic towards Trump.