Retired Four-Star General Calls Donald Trump a “Serious Threat” to National Security

The president seems “under the sway of Mr. Putin.”

Metzel Mikhail/TASS/Zumapress

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On Friday, a retired four-star Army general tweeted that President Donald Trump is a “serious threat” to national security. Barry McCaffrey, who worked as the White House’s drug czar during the Bill Clinton administration, said Trump is refusing to protect the United States from Russian attacks and appears to be “under the sway” of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Trump has repeatedly denied colluding with the Russians, often referring to the investigation as a “witch hunt.” Meanwhile, Democratic leaders and others have expressed bewilderment that Trump does not seem to take the threat of Russian interference seriously. On Thursday, partly based on intelligence that Kremlin-backed hackers have been working their way into America’s critical infrastructure, the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Russia. But Trump himself stayed uncharacteristically quiet. 

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

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