Trump Wins Intel Battle, But Losing War – 9KUSA

Trump at first press conference, Jan. 11, 2017
(Photo: Getty Images)

Donald Trump’s first press conference as president-elect was vintage Trump. He vigorously denied (fake news) the Internet-driven intelligence story about a Russian dossier on him, attacked the media for printing it and pivoted to his approach to conflicts of interest concerning the Trump Corporation. He dominated the news cycle and the press conference. Not particularly “presidential,” but self-confident, chatty and in control.

Of course, it is likely only a temporary reprieve from news on the dossier and fight with the intelligence community, and Trump already has problems. A new Quinnipiac poll shows the president-elect with a declining favorability rating since his November victory and low approval ratings for the transition.

• 37% favorability, down from 44% right after the November 8 election
• 37% approve transition, 51% disapprove
• Optimistic about next 4 years was 59%, now 52%
• Stop tweeting 64% to 33%

In an interview with 9KUSA TaRhonda Thomas, the following was highlighted:

• It is unprecedented to have this much controversy just prior to the inauguration, but the entire public aspect of this transition is unprecedented. The public entrances and departures at Trump Tower and frequent tweeting, including fights with actor Meryl Streep.
• Trump is master at surviving scandal. The Access Hollywood controversy last fall shows his durability. He recovered and won the election.
• The dossier will surely recede if no new evidence shows up. As president, he will have more ways to manage bad news, but there are a lot of intelligence players who intend on protecting their agencies, some of whom don’t believe he should be president.
• The conflict of interest issue will be back because his solution is too shallow for most observers.

See Politico: Highlights from Trump’s press conference