We have no idea what was discussed in Helsinki on Monday, but whatever it was has Donald Trump thrilled to invite Vladimir Putin to the White House for a little sitdown, as announced by Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Twitter a few minutes ago.
"President Trump asked @Ambjohnbolton to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway," she wrote in the context of an agreement for security level staffs to continue working together.
This also follows Sanders' cleanup on Aisle Browder/McFaul earlier today, where she anemically said in a statement, “It’s a proposal that was made in sincerity by President Putin, but President Trump disagrees with it.”
Oh. He disagrees. And invited Vladimir effing Putin to the White House because why the hell not? What would the purpose of such a visit be?
This "announcement" came in the middle of Andrea Mitchell's interview with DNI Coats, who was clearly caught off guard.
Mitchell leaned in. "I do want to say we have some breaking news," she told Coats. "The White House has announced on Twitter that Vladimir Putin is coming to the White House in the fall.
Coats was visibly surprised. "Say that again," he said, as the audience laughed.
"Vladimir Putin coming to --"
"Did i hear you?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Okaaay. That's going to be special."
That's one way to put it. Do you suppose Trump is inviting Putin to the White House to enjoy his military parade with him, or is it really more about handing over some super-secret intelligence to him while he's here? Maybe it's so Putin can hand-place some surveillance devices in the White House.
What is actually happening here and how long are we going to put up with it before we are out in the streets en masse demanding that Donald Traitor Trump be locked up?