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Republican presidential nominee telephoned into program on RT network, which has emerged as Kremlin’s propaganda tool
By DAMIAN PALETTA
Sept. 9, 2016 12:08 a.m. ET
21 COMMENTS
WASHINGTON—Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized more than a decade of U.S. foreign policy and cast doubt on assertions that the Kremlin is attempting to meddle in the U.S. elections during a 10-minute interview broadcast on a television network controlled by the Russian government.
Mr. Trump’s interview, broadcast Thursday evening on RT America, came a day after the GOP candidate praised Russian President Vladimir Putin during a national TV appearance. His comments drew fire from other Republicans, who have been sharply critical of Russia’s behavior in the Middle East and with neighboring countries.
The RT America interview was conducted by the veteran radio and TV personality Larry King. Mr. King prefaced the interview by saying he and Mr. Trump “go back well over 30 years, I consider him a good friend.” Though Mr. King was shown live on the RT America television screen, Mr. Trump had telephoned into the program.
Mr. Trump spent much of the interview bemoaning the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the aftermath, saying the U.S. had spent “$6 trillion on that war” and that “we’re in far worse shape than if we had never gone over there.”
“We should have never gone into Iraq…but once we [were] in, Larry, we shouldn’t have gone out the way we got out,” he said, suggesting that the withdrawal of troops several years ago allowed Islamic State to control territory there.
He said both Democratic and Republican administrations had made mistakes in Iraq but that he would focus on how to deal with Islamic State.
“Let’s look to the future,” he said. “It’s been a catastrophe. The Middle East for this country has been a catastrophe.”
Hope Hicks, Mr. Trump’s spokeswoman, said in an email that “Mr. Trump recorded a short interview with Larry King for his podcast as a favor to Mr. King. What Larry King does with the interview content is up to him, we have nothing to do with it.”
The RT network has emerged as an important propaganda tool since it was launched in 2005 by the Kremlin, which insisted that the world’s airwaves have been biased by pro-Western programming.
Its broadcasts were at first lampooned as amateurish, but it has gradually developed a following, as Moscow has poured millions into its budget and attracted some professionals like Larry King as well as some offbeat U.S. commentators and conspiracy theorists.
RT America is a media network based in Washington, D.C., but its parent company is based in Moscow.
In the interview, Mr. King asked Mr. Trump about reports that Russia had hacked computer networks controlled by Democrats, something that Democrats have alleged for weeks and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) suggested could be the case earlier in the day.
Mr. Trump said he wasn't convinced.
“I’ve been hearing about it,” he said. “I’ve been reading about it. I think it’s probably unlikely. I think maybe the Democrats are putting that out. Who knows? I think it’s pretty unlikely.”
The interview ended abruptly after 10 minutes, with Mr. Trump’s line going dead and Mr. King appearing to be confused.
Mr. Trump has said for months that he would like to improve the U.S. government’s relationship with Moscow and that he believes more cooperation could help disentangle the U.S. from the Middle East, among other things. The U.S. has a number of economic sanctions against Russia for years of behavior that the U.S. and other countries have said violates international norms, particularly the annexation of Crimea and the support for militants fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Last year the former chief of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, Ret. Lt. General Michael T. Flynn, made waves by attending a gala ceremony to mark the network’s anniversary. Gen. Flynn said he did nothing wrong by attending and has appeared as a commentator on programs where he argued that the U.S. and Russia should work more closely in fighting Islamist terror networks. Gen. Flynn is one of Mr. Trump’s top foreign-policy advisers.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-on-russian-tv-network-criticizes-u-s-foreign-policy-1473394136
By DAMIAN PALETTA
Sept. 9, 2016 12:08 a.m. ET
21 COMMENTS
WASHINGTON—Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized more than a decade of U.S. foreign policy and cast doubt on assertions that the Kremlin is attempting to meddle in the U.S. elections during a 10-minute interview broadcast on a television network controlled by the Russian government.
Mr. Trump’s interview, broadcast Thursday evening on RT America, came a day after the GOP candidate praised Russian President Vladimir Putin during a national TV appearance. His comments drew fire from other Republicans, who have been sharply critical of Russia’s behavior in the Middle East and with neighboring countries.
The RT America interview was conducted by the veteran radio and TV personality Larry King. Mr. King prefaced the interview by saying he and Mr. Trump “go back well over 30 years, I consider him a good friend.” Though Mr. King was shown live on the RT America television screen, Mr. Trump had telephoned into the program.
Mr. Trump spent much of the interview bemoaning the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the aftermath, saying the U.S. had spent “$6 trillion on that war” and that “we’re in far worse shape than if we had never gone over there.”
“We should have never gone into Iraq…but once we [were] in, Larry, we shouldn’t have gone out the way we got out,” he said, suggesting that the withdrawal of troops several years ago allowed Islamic State to control territory there.
He said both Democratic and Republican administrations had made mistakes in Iraq but that he would focus on how to deal with Islamic State.
“Let’s look to the future,” he said. “It’s been a catastrophe. The Middle East for this country has been a catastrophe.”
Hope Hicks, Mr. Trump’s spokeswoman, said in an email that “Mr. Trump recorded a short interview with Larry King for his podcast as a favor to Mr. King. What Larry King does with the interview content is up to him, we have nothing to do with it.”
The RT network has emerged as an important propaganda tool since it was launched in 2005 by the Kremlin, which insisted that the world’s airwaves have been biased by pro-Western programming.
Its broadcasts were at first lampooned as amateurish, but it has gradually developed a following, as Moscow has poured millions into its budget and attracted some professionals like Larry King as well as some offbeat U.S. commentators and conspiracy theorists.
RT America is a media network based in Washington, D.C., but its parent company is based in Moscow.
In the interview, Mr. King asked Mr. Trump about reports that Russia had hacked computer networks controlled by Democrats, something that Democrats have alleged for weeks and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) suggested could be the case earlier in the day.
Mr. Trump said he wasn't convinced.
“I’ve been hearing about it,” he said. “I’ve been reading about it. I think it’s probably unlikely. I think maybe the Democrats are putting that out. Who knows? I think it’s pretty unlikely.”
The interview ended abruptly after 10 minutes, with Mr. Trump’s line going dead and Mr. King appearing to be confused.
Mr. Trump has said for months that he would like to improve the U.S. government’s relationship with Moscow and that he believes more cooperation could help disentangle the U.S. from the Middle East, among other things. The U.S. has a number of economic sanctions against Russia for years of behavior that the U.S. and other countries have said violates international norms, particularly the annexation of Crimea and the support for militants fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Last year the former chief of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, Ret. Lt. General Michael T. Flynn, made waves by attending a gala ceremony to mark the network’s anniversary. Gen. Flynn said he did nothing wrong by attending and has appeared as a commentator on programs where he argued that the U.S. and Russia should work more closely in fighting Islamist terror networks. Gen. Flynn is one of Mr. Trump’s top foreign-policy advisers.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-on-russian-tv-network-criticizes-u-s-foreign-policy-1473394136
