But if standing up to Russian attempts to interfere with American democracy isn’t a foundational principle of an “America First” policy, what is? Trump’s response has suggested a different focus and different philosophy, one that might be described as “Trump First,” rather than “America First.” His instincts appear to be aimed at shielding himself.
The hacking has become the elephant in the room since the election. It is both a significant national security threat that Trump will have to deal with and also now is a roiling political debate that has threatened to complicate the transfer of power…
Since the election, Trump has rejected what would seem to be the obvious course to follow in light of the conclusions of the intelligence community. The simpler reaction would have been to respond the way many in Congress did, which was to express outrage at the interference and call for an investigation to examine exactly how the cyber intrusion happened and how similar activities can be prevented in the future. Instead he has continued to question the intelligence community and to suggest partisan motivations of others who accept those findings.
Perhaps his fear is that the more legitimacy is given to the conclusions that the Russians were motivated by their desire to help him or hurt Clinton, the less his victory will be seen as legitimate. Or perhaps all of his tweets and statements are a prelude to Monday’s electoral college vote, after which he will feel freer to reverse course and join others in calling for a congressional investigation to go along with the review and report ordered by Obama.
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