Donald Trump felt angry and vindicated after the public release of the Mueller report, but made an uncharacteristic dash past reporters as he headed off to a long weekend at his resort in Florida.
That was reportedly his wife’s doing.
A report from Bloomberg News noted that Donald Trump was defiant after a redacted version of the Russia report was made public this week. The report outlined a series of contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia and actions that Trump himself took to attempt to interfere with the investigation, but stopped short of recommending charges against Trump, and instead left it up to Congress whether he should face impeachment.
As the report noted, an angry Trump wanted to vent his frustrations, but was stopped by his wife.
“It was First Lady Melania Trump’s idea to spurn the press as Trump sought to show defiance after Mueller’s report, people briefed on the matter said,” the report noted, citing sources close to the president.
But the source also noted that there is growing worry among those close to Trump that he is stewing over the news coverage of the report, which noted the evidence that Trump tried to impede the investigation but was thwarted when members of his administration refused to carry out direct orders. The report noted that White House counsel Don McGahn refused to carry out an order to fire Mueller, and others also refused orders they believe would have implicated them for obstruction of justice, which essentially prevented Trump from being on the hook for obstruction charges as well.
Other White House advisers hoped that Democrats would “overplay their hand” in seeking Trump’s impeachment, giving the president a boost similar to what Bill Clinton saw when Republicans impeached him. But Congressional Democrats have been wary about even broaching the topic of impeaching Trump, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continuing to push aside questions of whether he should be impeached. Pelosi had repeatedly said that Democrats would not move forward on impeachment proceedings without strong bipartisan support, and Republicans have not shown any indication of supporting impeachment after the release of the Mueller report.
It was first lady Melania Trump’s idea to spurn the press as she and the president left the White House on Thursday after the Mueller report’s release, sources say https://t.co/ItKSvOIqiV pic.twitter.com/f1bzCm0gah
— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) April 19, 2019
While Melania Trump may have kept Donald from venting to reporters, she has not done much to stop him from sharing his anger on Twitter. Donald Trump continues to vent on his favorite social media outlet, calling the Russia investigation a waste of money and taking aim at media outlets that reported on it.
