Thread: Romney, McCain and Graham urge Trump to act on Russia, listen to those offering help

Romney, McCain and Graham urge Trump to act on Russia, listen to those offering help

By Mary Alice Parks
PARK CITY, Utah
Jun 10, 2017, 3:29 PM ET

With all the controversies, scandals, tough headlines and reported infighting in the White House, it would have been easy for Republican power players speaking at a summit this weekend to vent and bash the Trump administration -- but they didn’t.

Those Republicans invited to speak at Mitt Romney's annual E2 Summit this weekend -- far from Washington in Park City, Utah, -- have been some of the vocal critics of Donald Trump, but instead of distancing themselves from the president, they instead told friends and colleagues at the event they are cautiously optimistic about his administration and want to help it succeed.

“Don’t you want to help the president? Don’t you think we all should?” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked the intimate crowd of GOP donors, businessmen and politicians from around the country.

“We are much closer than we were just immediately following the election,” the summit’s host, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said about Trump.

“I think we have a president who is learning,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., agreed. “He’s got a national security team that is as strong as I have ever seen.”

Despite very public disagreements with the current president, all three of these men spoke kindly as they offered their advice, driving home the idea that they still think congressional Republicans and Trump could work together. They spoke about building bridges with the administration and their confidence in the current cabinet.

Do something about Russia

Graham, McCain and Romney all agreed, first and foremost, that the president needs to take a tougher stand on Russia and acknowledge the severity of Vladimir Putin's attempt to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. Romney said that much of the conspiracy theories about Trump, his taxes and his staff could have been avoided had the president said outright, “this is outrageous.”

“No one is suggesting it affected the outcome, but [Russians] tried to affect the outcome. This is outrageous,” he said, suggesting Trump tell the country, “I hope the FBI carries out a thorough investigation of who has anything to do with this and let’s move on.”

“Instead, when you attack and say it is fake news, you just bring more and more attention and more and more people say, ‘what’s going on here?'... The more you stir a turd, the more it stinks,” he continued.

Graham said Trump’s relationship with Putin was his single “biggest problem with the president,” but added, again, that he “wanted to help him.”

“He believes talking about Russian interference delegitimizes his win,” Graham echoed. “That’s not true.”

The South Carolina senator urged that the president back the bill he and McCain authored to increase sanctions on Russia, and threatened to work to override a veto should the president refuse to sign it. “I think it would serve the president well if we publicly say, ‘This is right, we should punish Russia for interfering in our elections.’”

“I will do anything I can to help this president, except give up my own judgment,” he added.

Just listen

McCain told the crowd he is glad the president is calling Graham, his former primary opponent, more frequently. Graham joked that he begged the president not to tweet on Thursday during the Comey hearing. Listening, these men said, could serve the president well.

“I want you to understand, despite of all this clutter, that we can pull it off," Graham concluded his remarks. "We can do things that are good for this country and President Trump can be a consequential president. But if he doesn’t adjust the way he is behaving and he doesn’t let people help him, he is going to lose the last best chance our Republican Party has to change America and make our voice heard."

Go big, go green

During the event, Graham also offered domestic policy advice. He complimented the president’s willingness to take bold actions and offered that he “go big” on environmental and immigration issues.

“At the end of the day, the one thing I can tell you about Trump -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- he is willing to do things that no other Republican would think about doing,” Graham said. “How about a carbon fee?”

He argued that the president could both reinvigorate the coal and clean energy technology industries by calling for the federal government to put a price on carbon. A rather liberal idea, Graham said, could have economic advantages for the country and political pluses for his party.

“If you are from 18 to 35 [years old] this is a top-five issue for your consistency. Whether we like it or not, young people have been educated through movies and TV that we need to be better stewards of God’s creation,” he said. “We need to get into environmental game and not give it all to Al Gore.”

“Is it hard politics? Hell yes,” he added. “Trump might do it. I am going to advocate that he thinks big.”

Appealing to better angels

Romney’s advice for the White House was statelier -- almost grandiose. Without naming Trump, he closed his speech with a soliloquy, which seemed to allude to the current president and what his ideas and term so far had meant for the reputation of the country.

“If you want to make America great, you’ve got to believe in goodness,” he said, becoming emotional and choked up at times. “We stand with good people and good leaders."

“What does this country represent? Human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, a conviction that we should aspire for every person to have equal opportunity,” he continued. “Do we welcome the huddled masses of the earth yearning to be free? That's who we are. That's the cost in the ground in Arlington.”

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/romne...ry?id=47949584

Well, isn't that nice. They're right but short-sighted. Trump is going to be one of the greatest Presidents in US history. No doubt about it. The man is a One Man Machine. It's unbelievable watching how fast and systematic he thinks and works, that's why I say all the Republicans in Congress need to "sit down, shut up and wait for orders". I don't mean that to demean them, I mean it seriously and in the best of context for our country.

If any of you wannabe know it alls knew what to do, you would have already done it, so the sooner you admit that you are in the presence of genius or near to it with greatness all over it, the sooner you will realize that he's got this, he already knows 99% of the time what he's going to do and how he's going to do it. There is the 1% which is how to work with you guys in Congress to get it done. Maybe in another couple of months you'll understand that Trump is not the one who needs to "listen", you are the ones who need to listen, and then go do what he suggests or asks you to do.

Now, on Russia, you are wrong about Russia. Russia did not try to interfere in our election. Trump is right about this being a hoax, a hoax fake news story fabricated by Jim Comey and some others in the FBI and other INTEL agencies in collusion with the DNC, the Clinton Campaign and the Obama Administration to first try to win the election for Clinton for the simple reason that he wanted to keep his job and was afraid he'd be fired if Trump won, and then Weiner's scuttle-but threw a wrench in it, which he tried to salvage but couldn't, all the while Trump is working his ass off in key states, holding those magnificent rallies one after another while Hillary hid out studying notes for the debates, and Trump won hands down, based on hard work, great message and superior strategy, fair and square.

Russia didn't meddle in our election. Russians including Russian officials may have wanted Trump to win, no different than I wanted Marine Le Pen to win, and for Brexit to pass. We have the right to have opinions and voice them not only about our own elections but elections in other countries as well. Based on who Donald Trump is, what his message is, what his goals and plans are, it seems to me that of course Russia would want Trump to win, for the simple reason he wants peace with Russia, he wants trade with Russia, he wants to work with Russia to solve problems in the Syria, help where possible with North Korea issue and also in Afghanistan.

Trump is right about Crimea. He really is. Russia was right to accept them back, that's what the people of Crimea wanted to do. It is the outcome they sought, because they are Russians, not Ukraines.

The question people need to start asking is why do we have so many Senators who are so biased in favor of Ukraine, and so against Russia? There is no good answer for this position. The world has been very unfair to Russia, especially the West and frankly without Russia, there would be o West. That is a fact.

Why have we lap-dogged Mexico, a country that floods US with drug runners, gypsies and con artists, pedophiles and drunks, while we ignore and mistreat this Russian nation of truly wonderful people?!! There is no good answer for that.

So get off Trump's back about Russia. Follow his lead. He will make peace and solve problems, and if you support him and give him the chance to do what he promised he would do, you will be thrilled with the result. The sooner he can get that objective met, the better off the world will be and the more time and attention he can give our country to solve our numerous problems like this awful illegal immigration.

We want to be friends and allies with both Ukraine and Russia and there is no reason on earth why we can't do that.