During an event Thursday recognizing the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride in the East Room of the White House, President Donald Trump responded to the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s highly anticipated report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“They’re having a good day, and I’m having a good day too,” Trump told a group of veterans at the White House.
“No collusion, no obstruction,” Trump declared as the veterans roared in approval. “There never was, by the way, and there never will be. And we do have to get to the bottom of these things. This should never happen … to another president again. This hoax. It should never happen to another president again.”
🚨TRUMP'S FIRST RESPONSE TO MUELLER REPORT -NO COLLUSION/OBSTRUCTION 🚨
"I'm having a good day. It was called no collusion, no obstruction."
Crowd of wounded warriors at the White House roars.
"The hoax, it should never happen to another president again. Thank you."
Applause. pic.twitter.com/Atq2dll2Md
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 18, 2019
Earlier Thursday morning, the president noted in a tweet that he has made this very same point many times before.
No Collusion – No Obstruction! pic.twitter.com/diggF8V3hl
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2019
After Attorney General William Barr’s news conference discussing the Mueller report, Trump tweeted a “Game of Thrones”-inspired image which read “Game Over.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2019
Trump’s triumphant attitude today is in stark contrast to his feelings on the day Mueller was appointed to investigate possible collusion between his campaign and Russia.
According to the redacted version of Mueller’s report, then former Attorney General Jeff Sessions informed Trump that a special counsel had been appointed to conduct the Russia investigation, the president slumped back in his chair and exclaimed, “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m f*cked.”
The president, who never forgave Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation, said: “How could you let this happen, Jeff?” according to the report.
Trump correctly noted that special counsel investigations ruins presidencies, and could take “years and years and I won’t be able to do anything,” the report says.
“This is the worst thing to ever happen to me,” Trump said, according to the report.
Now that the investigation is over, and the redacted report is out not proving a conspiracy with the Russians, or obstruction, the president is not out of the woods politically because there is plenty of grist for the mill in the report for Democrats to use in their anti-Trump efforts.
It is unlikely Democrats will use any potentially embarrassing or unflattering information about the president to impeach him, but they will amplify every negative nugget from the report from now until election day in 2020 as they try to win back the presidency.
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)