Is it wise for Trump to call the CIA's intell unbelievable ? (Details )

No, of course not.

But this is/was an instinctive self-protective response on his part, because it casts doubt on his legitimacy as president (not that his legitimacy wasn’t already being questioned).

This is, of course, far more serious than whether Trump was elected properly. But he is so egomaniacal that he sees it as a personal assault and dismisses it.

All more evidence of his utter incompetence.

Once he appoints his guy, Mr. Dunning-Kruger, to head the Intelligence Agency, I’m sure he’ll have more confidence in it.

Trumps entire campaign was driven by “unwise” things he said and or Tweeted and look who is our next President. Russians hacking our databases is nothing new, but accusations that Russians attempted to manipulate our election is new and only making headlines is because the Democrats lost BIG TIME! Trump even said just imagine if they lost and brought up the prospect of Russian hacking the RNC CNN and the dems would tell him to STFU whiny loser.

I am reserving my opinion on this until if and when they CIA/FBI put up proof that Russian hacking had any influence what so ever. Where is this proof? Simply saying it happened over and over does not make it so.

Even CNN had this on their news site…

“Officials familiar with the briefings given to Congress say the CIA assessment wasn’t as definitive as has been portrayed in news reports this weekend. ”

Well, he claims to know more than the CIA, so why do you think he needs their intel to justify something. Why do you think he needs any justification for any action? His argument is he knows how to do things, and you should trust him.

Man, just stop watching cnn. It’s now just the Comedy News Network, even faux news is more credible these days. What I have read is he just does not want to sit through the same briefing over and over. Questioning if Russia intervened is being overblown. None of us know what went on in that briefing.

^I don’t have cable TV. I read a story about it on yahoo news, and another on The Huffington Post.

Let me be clear. This question is not focused on Trump’s legitimacy as president.
I personally don’t think the election would have went differently, because of any hacking. Or any thing else.

Trump won… (puke in my mouth saying that. )

This question is centered on how Trump’s future relationship will be with the CIA. And if it will affect his ability to work as president.

Considering some of the CIA’s more notable failures to gather, disseminate and act on various forms of intel in my lifetime (including the flat-footed response to the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990, which most adults here should be aware of) and some of its farcical overt attempts at regime change in the world (including the various machinations around South Vietnamese presidents and even South Korean leadership, not to mention the various silly-if-they-weren’t-actual-national-policy attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro), it probably is more than a little smart to disbelieve half of what the CIA says, to look for alternative sources of information and to question everything pointedly.

However, I do not believe that your question is asked in good faith. You don’t really care whether it’s “wise” or not; you’re just looking for talking points to prove how smart you are when you tear him down for the various decisions he makes.

Aside from all of this, he’s not yet the President. No matter what CIA intelligence he receives now, he’s not in a position to act on any of it. And while we have grown used to presidents “going to war” against various countries or rebels in some countries, this is and has always been unconstitutional, and should be criticized harshly and on its face when it occurs. “Presidents” don’t declare war in this country. Not even when the president has a Nobel Peace Prize… awarded simply for having been elected.

I wouldn’t use the words “wise” and “Trump” in the same sentence (same paragraph…same page…).

It must be obvious to all by now, and terrifyingly (or deliciously) so to foreign leaders, that we have an incoming president who doesn’t take the job seriously. In fact, he doesn’t seem to have a clue what the job is.

He says he’s a pretty smart guy, so he doesn’t need intelligence briefings. I wonder what he thinks “intelligence” even means.

Where are you guys reading this stuff from? These intelligence briefings are apparently the same info day after day. All he has said is he does not want to hear the same info again and again and to set up a briefing when there is new info. Frankly it surprises me that past presidents have not done this already. actually it’s not that surprising considering we elect people who are not doers The more the left whines about this and other nonsense the more I want to distance myself from them.

*intel
Well, the only other alternative would have been admitting that he is a Russian agent.
So he has to condemn the CIA to try to keep his cover.

Russian agent: I doubt that. I think the Russians are more particular about whom they engage. Now, if you told me that he thought the Russians were his agents…

I already sourced yahoo, and the Huffington Post. But I think the story originated from the Washington post…

As stated. Just curious of a president’s relationship with his intelligence community after such anomalous rhetoric.

@CWOTUS . Thanks for nothing as usual. If it’s so beneath you, your contribution is not required.
And as insult appears to be your primary goal, you invalidate any of your otherwise welcome ,thoughtful responses. I’m sorry my questions don’t get you excited. I’ll try harder next time exalted one…

What makes you think anything Trump does could be considered wise? I mean in an interview yesterday he claimed he wouldn’t need to read the daily intelligence briefs because he was smart enough already. Fuckwit…

Trump is the supreme egotist. What is unbelievable is that he ever got elected.

So. Will this cost Trump some cooperation with the CIA?

I’m curious of how they might react….

You lost me at “is it wise for Trump”... L O frikkin’ L…

Is there any thing at all wise about Trump?

There’s precious little that even seems not random or not grossly, monumentally foolish about him.

This one fits right in, though I think everyone would be wise to be skeptical about political information coming from the CIA, especially accusations towards nations which some elements might want to have an excuse to target.

Sorry about the ‘wise’ and Trump thing. Sometimes I struggle to find the right wording for a short question….

Your question has me thinking that Trump’s appointments make for ready mystic contemplations:

How could he be president, and not work with the CIA?

How could the head of the Department of Education, be against science?

How could the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, be against environmental protection and deny climate change?

etc…

^I don’t have answers to those valid questions I’m afraid…

It’s all a roll of the dice from here.

He’ll work with KGB..)

some say the end is near…some say we’ll see Armageddon soon…

I still think that it isn’t the Democratic Party that is doomed to irrelevance by Trump’s election, and scant cynicism is required to appreciate the Russian realization of the truly impossible dream. For the bottom line is that there is no imaginable military, or strategic edge possessed by the US that might counter the debilities involved with Trump in the cockpit. Considered objectively, it is difficult to envision any possible action on the part of the Russians which might hamstring the geopolitical strategic interests of the United States to the extent of the installation of an arrogant know nothing to be charged with formulating those interests. There could be no bigger bang for the Russian buck, than whatever relative pittance of treasure or effort required to assist the elevation of a bonafide booby to commander in chief. Of course the Russians were in on it. What intelligence service, would pass up such an unheard of opportunity and suffer the embarrassment to itself on missing out.

Well I guess he just called up Putin, and confirmed the Russians didn’t do it.
He doesn’t believe his people just the other side, poor President Reagan must be spinning in his grave.

The intel about Saddam’s nukes and chemical warfare capabilities was so spot on. ~~

Trump is just trying to bully every fucking person and country that comes along. It’s how he got rich in his real estate business, by intimidating everything and everyone.
He does not have the brains to realize it’s a whole different ball game now. He’s trying to continue handling it like he always has. It worked then, why should now be any different?

It is fitting since Mr. Trump is a hub cap and not the big wheel he envisions himself as.

He has bragged about how he will be “unbelievably prepared” on day one.
It appears to be another campaign promise he has no intention of fulfilling.

I find it unbelievable how badly prepared he is.

So he was right!

The intel about Saddam’s nukes and chemical warfare capabilities was so spot on. ~~

That bad intel came from Cheney, not the CIA.

It was publicly known months before the war the CIA was being forced to “cook the books” fit the administration’s pre-determined results.

October 8, 2002 - President Bush’s case against Saddam Hussein, outlined in a televised address to the nation on Monday night, relied on a slanted and sometimes entirely false reading of the available US intelligence, government officials and analysts claimed yesterday.

@Hypocrisy_Central Despite what Trump tweeted, that wasn’t the CIA, that was Dick Cheney.

@Call_Me_Jay jinx!

Yeah. Cheney made a fortune off of that war. Greedy asshole was already wealthy beyond a dream.

I don’t think it has quite sunk in overall as to just how grand a catastrophe a Trump
Presidency portends. There is so much more than mere embarrassment for the country at risk from one so habituated to the routine and casual invention of facts concerning the gravest of matters—facts which openly fly in the face of starkly visible reality. Is it even remotely possible for ANYONE to oversee a government while evincing so impossibly flexible a relationship with the truth?

A standing ovation for @stanleybmanly !

@stanleybmanly You missed the obvious. He will make millions or maybe billions because of “conflict of interest”, (he will ignore) including the Trump Tower rentals for security. His son (Eric) is probably running around issuing “Short” on stocks Trump is current trashing for Defense spending.

It can only go down from here for “common folk” and UP for Trump Industries.

All of these negatives right out in the open are the reason why Trump’s election guarantees manifest insurmountable difficulties for his party which would have fared far better from his defeat. It will soon dawn on the brighter bulbs in the Republican leadership that the issue of competence regarding their winner cannot possibly be avoided let alone tolerated for a 4 year term. He just plain cannot shut up.

Trump’s relationship with Russia reminds me of the movie The Manchurian Candidate. Even if the U.S. and Russia were close allies, it would be upsetting to find a foreign government using hacking to affect an American election. Several Republicans have shown support for the CIA investigation.

Intelligence comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s from a drunk. Sometimes it’s from a reputable source. The CIA provides the president with information. It’s then up to the president, and what they talk through with their advisors, as far as what (if anything) to do with the intell.

My understanding is that, in the case of the yellow cake uranium, the source was falsely made out to be reputable. Intelligence was over represented by Cheney’s squad. Colon Powell would later admit he felt betrayed by the administration,as he openly questioned the source ,and was allegedly straight lied to. He later stepped down, in large part due to that scenario.

Bush himself seemed to figure it out ,sadly far too late. He was was always in over his head. That’s why Cheney was there. He was supposed to help advise GW,and of course drive the agenda of a small number of the wealthy elite . He intentionally deceived Bush and many others, to start a war that financially benefited his companies, both in the act of war, and in the reconstruction of Iraq.

Almost every life on the planet has been effected by this manipulation of intelligence.

But there is still a glaring need for an intelligence gathering agency in any government. And it would behoove any leader to at least give them his or her ear. What they decide to do with the info is on them. I would hope that part of the reason a voter would elect a person into the presidential office, is the voter’s trust in said person’s ability to decide what information is important, and how to act on it.

If the government were a physical organism, the CIA would be a vital organ. There must be cohesiveness, and teamwork.

Trump’s actions seem closer to that of an undisputed king, rather than that of a president who is part of a government, not the government.

Facts and Known empirical issues are NOT ‘impressions’ or ‘beliefs’ or ‘opinions’. Somewhere along the line, we have completely lost the plot.

He could listen to a detailed report on North Korea with new information for an hour every day for the rest of his life and not get North Korea. But he is going to have to deal with them on day 1. They will test him right away. What in the world is he thinking?

Never mind China, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran. Never mind all of Europe. Pakistan. All of Africa. And on and on.

Never mind Russia.

Not to mention adversaries and nutcases within our own borders.

Apparently the only right amount of information for him is “none.” Who needs to take in information when you can make it up yourself?

The Cold War was very scary. Air raid drills in school were very scary. Civil Defense alerts were very scary. The Cuban Missile Crisis was extremely scary. This is worse.

@stanleybmanly What are the negatives right out in the open you seem so threatened by and that you think guarantee insurmountable difficulties for the Republican party. Trump could give a rat’s ass about the Republican party right now…the very party that tried harder to derail his quest for the White House then the DNC did. Plus the fact that he refused to shut up during his campaign is a large part of why he won…he talked (tweeted) loud and often and people listened and connected with his message. He won! No real reason he should now stop saying what is on his mind. You also seem very concerned over his competence….you should try considering the incredible feat of competence it took to defeat Hillary and the Democratic machine. Probably the single biggest political victory in the history of our country. No small feat there. I know nothing I can write here will ever convince you that Trump will serve our country competently because you do not possess the ability to see conservatives with rational thought. Very few people are not surprised by his victory, but if you closely examine the people he surrounded himself with…the people he relied on the shape his message and drive his campaign, it rivaled the laser sharp competence of Obama’s 2 campaigns. Trump almost did more to hurt his campaign that anyone but it was these thinkers and doers he surrounded himself with who are the ones who helped him accomplish the unthinkable and unimaginable. For where I sit, I see him doing the same thing all over with his cabinet picks. I imagine you will be happy when you see him out playing golf as it will mean he is nowhere near the White House.

The even more amazing thing is he won the election by spending less than half of what Hillary did. I think you will have an even harder time hearing all the times he gets things done on time and under budget. It is really too bad you cannot give him a modicum of credit. Wall Street is celebrating his win with a 2,000 point rally in under 3 weeks, something we haven’t seen for over 8 years.

Back to the CIA just because they “think” the Russian tampered with the election doesn’t make it so. It is important to note that all the evidence they have even they admit is circumstantial and not only Trump knows this but so do the higher ups at the FBI who have publicly stated that viewing the same information/evidence, they cannot make the same conclusions the CIA has. Let’s not forget what the CIA and the Democrats did to conspire with Russia to deliberately undermine Reagan’s early days in office and the CIA’s role in WMD’s. As Detective Joe Friday used to say…“Just the fact’s ma’am”

Let’s not forget what the CIA and the Democrats did to conspire with Russia to deliberately undermine Reagan’s early days

That’s a new one. Care to elaborate?

and the CIA’s role in WMD’s
Nonsense. As detailed upthread, that was not the CIA, it was the White House pushing a fake story.

@Cruiser There’s no point in reviewing Trump’s negatives. If YOU haven’t noticed them, you have my sincere sympathy. And while I probably do indeed feel threatened by Trump, you may rest assured that the threat is primarily about embarrassment for the country and the witless souls lacking the sense to appreciate that they too should be embarrassed. While Trump may indeed regard the GOP with the contempt it most certainly deserves, he is nevertheless the leader of that organization, and will be so when his tactless and perpetually lying mouth forces that party to participate in the impeachment of his silly ass on national television. And while there are certainly times when speaking your mind (if you have one) is laudable, the requirements of common sense and certainly statesmanship should dictate what tumbles from your mouth and when. And last but certainly not least, if you have no suspicions regarding Trump’s competence, I advise you to keep that fact to yourself. While optimism in these turbulent days may be an admirable trait, those viewing Trump’s antics as proof of “a glass half full” court assured, swift and unlimited disappointment. It distresses me somewhat that you regard his “razor sharp” retinue with such awe, while the rest of the world watches in disbelief as he assembles a cabinet recruited from the script of Animal House. But never mind. Let’s agree that we’re in for an adventure. One thing I’ll cede you about Trump. It’s that line from Bob Hope’s theme song “you may have been a problem, but you never were a bore”

@stanleybmanly You are certainly insufferable with your revulsion of Trump and I will refrain from further engagement with your diatribes about him. I will point out again that these witless souls you refer to are the best and the brightest thinkers, doers movers and shakers which include our countries leaders and world leaders who are lining up at the elevators of Trump tower to meet him, shower him with praise and discuss our countries future and theirs. Trump has these people coming to him and will meet with more of these witless people before he takes the oath of office than Obama did in 8 years.

“the best and the brightest thinkers”
HAHAHAHA

While I’m not exactly a trump supporter the way the left and especially the media is behaving right now is pretty repugnant. It’s almost as bad or worse than all of the birther, muslim extremist, antichrist bullshit the right puked up when Obama was elected. I mean come on.. I thought the left was supposed to be “civilized.” Seriously, fuck american politics.

I forgot I wanted to share this with everyone here. I was watching CNN yes CNN this morning and they had on an ex CIA director on and he said we the public will never know whether or not the Russians hacked the servers or whoever really did as he said it was their protocol in the name of national security to never disclose “methods and sources” of information they gather. He was very blunt when he said we the public will never know as the CIA and the White House will never reveal nor confirm who did it. I have to admit it was very fun to watch Chris Cuomo stammer and stutter after his the Russian are the hackers narrative was shot down by this ex CIA director. I believe Trump is aware of this dynamic and very well could have already been briefed on who what where and when did the hacking hence his response to this question.

@ragingloli Did you notice Merkel was not invited to the reindeer games?

^^ I thought the left was supposed to be “civilized.”
To some that IS our brand of civility, you lose go riot; not too much different from what civility is here.

“best and brightest thinkers”

If best means greedy, and brightest means wealthy elite.

So.far it looks like the monkeys will be running the zoo.

As far as draining the swamp. Pfft. He’s gotten some of the greasiest eels and sub humans the country can offer.

If I voted for Trump because I thought he would change the bad people at the top, I’d already be disappointed.

HC . They aren’t rioting because of who lost. They’re rioting because of who won.

I find it odd that Mr. Trump said he was going to “drain the swamp.” Looks like he’s draining it into his administration.

@kritiper I said it weeks ago that Trump was filling Trump Tower with this swamp water all the way up to the penthouse.

Maybe he is draining the swamp into Jezebel’s Hillary’s cesspool. Ha ha 

He’s making enemies within his own departments faster than he can hire his cabinet members.

He tried to get the EPA to release names of employees that work on Climate Science.
He is clearly preparing to perpetrate an Erdoğan level political purge.

Yes. Somehow this is getting more disturbing….

There have been allegations that Trump is threatening members of the Electoral College in states that voted for Trump with political retaliation if they don’t vote for him. If these allegations can be confirmed, shouldn’t that be an impeachable offense?

There are also reports that he has Aids

An impeachable offense is spelled out in the constitution as, “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”. A loose definition.

Wikipedia quotes Jerry Ford with a succinct clarification – “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”

He 100% has aides

It’s normal activity for a douche bag.

The latest news is that the FBI, CIA, NSA and Obama are all in agreement that the DNC was hacked by Russians. This really is a big deal since the various U.S. spy agencies are usually at each other’s throats. When Trump decides to show up at an intelligence briefing, maybe they will let him in on how they reached their conclusion.

Indeed. The plot thickens…..

The thing that is missed in all of this is that if the opportunity existed to assist in the seating of Trump in yhe saddle, the Russians would be damned fools and outright embarrassed by passing it up. We can act as outraged as we please, but our own country has routinely manipulated the electioral politics in other nations clandestinely for decades.