On Friday, the president lashed out at author Michael Wolff's blockbuster book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, by tweeting: “Well, now that collusion with Russia is proving to be a total hoax and the only collusion is with Hillary Clinton and the FBI/Russia, the Fake News Media (Mainstream) and this phony new book are hitting out at every new front imaginable. They should try winning an election. Sad!”
The MSNBC host dug right into Trump's comments, stating, "There are worries over Russian interference with democratic elections and it comes after the U.S. intelligence agencies agreed it is already happened here in the United States."
"Remember, interference and collusion are not the same thing. Now, of course, you would not know that by listening to President Trump," Ruhle instructed before showing a clip of Trump telling an Alabama crowd, "They [the Clinton campaign] did a rotten job of running, but to convince people about this hoax, that was probably the thing that they did best. It was one great hoax. No, Russia did not help me, that, I can tell you."
"Despite the president's comments, it is a genuine threat to our democracy," Ruhle explained. "America is not the only target. Business Insider reports National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said Russia has set their sights on the upcoming election in Mexico."
"This is hardly the first or second time they attempted to interfere in another country's process," she continued. "A few months ago, Spanish officials became convinced Russian-based groups used social media to spread support for the country's Catalonian independence. Dutch groups said Russian-backed groups attempted to spread propaganda and fake news during their election last year. They concede the Kremlin did not succeed in substantially influencing the process."
"Local news in Norway is reporting their Labor Parliament group was targeted by a, quote, 'foreign agent,' reportedly said to be the same Russian intelligence group that targeted the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election," she added. "And last November, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May targeted Russia in a formal speech, insisting that the Kremlin attempted to interfere in their elections and, quote, 'weaponize information.'"
"See," she ruefully explained. "I didn't even have time to get to France on that one. I assure you, Emmanuel Macron has a lot to say."
"We should note, this has been in the Russian playbook for years," she detailed. "They interfered in Ukrainian elections in 2014 as part of their strategy to reclaim power over former Soviet states. Of course, this level of control and meddling dates back to the foundation of the Soviet Union a century ago."
Watch the video below via MSNBC:
