White House officials leaked details of President Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin, revealing that he ignored advice from his national security advisors not to congratulate the Russian president for winning his election.
The Washington Post cited “officials familiar with the call” who said national security advisors specifically instructed “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” in the president’s briefing book for his phone call with Putin.
Trump disregarded the advice and congratulated Putin anyway. He also did not bring up the poisoning of a former Russian spy living in the United Kingdom, something his advisors wanted him to personally condemn the Russian president for.
Rather than taking a hostile tone, Trump discussed the possibility of a meeting with Putin to discuss many of the issues facing the two countries.
“We’ll probably be meeting in the not-too-distant future,” Trump said to reporters after the phone call.
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