posted by majorspark
I don't know if it is just blind luck but Trump makes a comment on a hypothetical...
That's an interesting point. Not the first time he's done this - push the buttons to provoke a lot of uber partisan hot-takes, and then he finally spells it out and makes his detractors look stupid pushing fake news.
I didn't think his response to the hypothetical was bad, it was just insufficient. Yes, you should not invite foreign influence or possibly "owe" someone something. However, I think you actually have a duty to hear it, and then pass it on to the media and FBI so that it's not covered up.
The risk is that you end-up being used to legitimize a smear. And, as we've seen, that's precisely what happened with Russia-collusion. And I doubt there was any coordination with McCabe, but I think you have to be an idiot not to realize that it's 100% true (the laundering of otherwise illegal/unethical oppo research). It's exactly what Hillary did - it's a distinction without a difference to have the information voluntarily delivered be illegal, but money funneled thru a couple of third parties to BUY that info isn't illegal. And I think this particular area, and some others, are kind of rigged to work against outsiders - even if you know about the dirt peddaling network, you probably don't know how to access it legally.
What people, myself included, forget is that Trump is very experienced in the political influence and dirty politics sphere. He doesn't have to be all that savvy, but because of his money and profile he's been playing that game for close to 50 years. He plays dumb because it comes naturally, but sometimes I think he is setting traps for his opponents. He's also very good at leveraging this unique political asset where his words are malleable, and forgiven for being prone to misspeaking and abusing hyperbole - he gets the do over, and uses that to his advantage to bait his opponents into indefensible positions.