Trump Goes Abroad Amid Escalating Russia Probe: A Closer Look

-President Trump has been on the first foreign trip
of his presidency since Friday.
But even when he's abroad,
he can't seem to escape the scandal
that's been haunting him here at home.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
♪♪
It's funny that you can almost feel
that Trump is out of the country.
It's like when you were in school
and your bully was out with the flu.
And he's out tomorrow too?
Well, looks like I'll be wearing my "Doctor Who" T-shirt.
[ Laughter ]
And Trump was probably just as glad
to be getting away from it all on Friday,
when he boarded Air Force One
for his nine-day trip to Europe and the Middle East.
I mean, he can finally sit back and relax on the flight.
I mean, it's not like massive news
is gonna break while he's in the air, right?
-Major breaking news --
The New York Times is reporting this afternoon
that President Trump told the Russians last week
during a meeting at the White House
that the firing of FBI Director James Comey
eased pressure from the Russia investigation.
-Washington Post is reporting
that a current White House official
is a significant person of interest
in the investigation into the Trump administration
and Trump campaign.
-Sources now tell CNN that Russian officials
bragged about how close they were to Michael Flynn.
-That's right, and we're learning the Russians hoped to
use their relationship with Flynn
to influence the new US President.
-The latest is from McClatchy.
They're reporting that the Trump-Russia probe
now includes a possible cover-up.
-Yeah, that dude's not coming back.
If he were smart,
he'd put on a disguise and slip into the crowd,
like Hannibal Lecter at the end of "Silence of the Lambs."
I mean, seriously, if you were Trump,
why would you ever come back here?
He's under active investigation
with talk of impeachment growing louder by the day.
Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia,
he got the kind of royal treatment he thinks he deserves.
His face was projected onto the side of the Ritz-Carlton.
He was received
in a lavish welcoming ceremony on a red carpet.
And the king of Saudi Arabia
presented him with a literal gold medal.
Now, to be fair, they gave that medal to Bush and Obama too,
but I wouldn't be surprised
if Trump started wearing it everywhere he goes.
"Oh, this?
Yeah, I won Best President at the Desert Olympics."
[ Laughter ]
The Saudis --
[ Cheers and applause ]
The Saudis even gave Trump a sword
as part of an elaborate ceremony
in which Trump participated in a traditional Saudi sword dance
and looked very uncomfortable.
[ Men speak Arabic ]
♪♪
-It's like watching your grandpa
do the Electric Slide at a wedding
but with a deadly weapon.
In fact, during this trip,
the countries that will host Trump have gone out of their way
to coddle the notoriously temperamental president
and do everything they can to make him feel at home.
For example, before he left,
the Associated Press reported that...
First of all, whose favorite meal
is a steak with a side of ketchup?
Is he a hobo from a cartoon?
Second of all, you're an adult. Eat what they serve you.
Despite all the coddling,
the trip seems to be taking its toll on Trump.
For example, after Trump made a mistake
during a speech over the weekend,
a senior White House official explained it by saying...
And to be fair, it's not like
Trump insisted repeatedly on the campaign trail
that stamina was an important thing for a president.
-Hillary Clinton does not have the stamina,
doesn't have the energy. She doesn't have it.
We've got so many problems in this country.
I say she does not have the stamina to be a good president.
She doesn't have the stamina.
I said she doesn't have the stamina.
And I don't believe she does have the stamina.
To be president of this country,
you need tremendous stamina.
You have to be able to negotiate.
That's right. With Japan, with Saudi Arabia.
You have so many different things
you have to be able to do,
and I don't believe that Hillary has the stamina.
-Sure.
Hillary doesn't have the stamina,
but he's the Energizer Bunny.
After his high-energy sword dance,
his Fitbit said "Likely dead?"
[ Laughter ]
Now, today --
[ Applause ]
Today, Trump moved on to Israel
with the First Lady, Melania Trump,
and maybe they're just not used
to spending this much time together,
but watch Melania's reaction
when Trump tries to take her hand.
♪♪
She fully LeBron'd him.
I wish there was better audio so we could hear her say
"Get that weak [bleep] out of here."
Dikembe finger.
[ Laughter ]
After Trump arrived in Israel,
he made an appearance with the president of Israel
and spoke about his trip to Saudi Arabia.
But he seemed to forget that Israel is in the Middle East.
-My staff has been fantastic.
And as you know, Rex, Secretary of State,
has done an incredible job.
We just got back from the Middle East.
We just got back from Saudi Arabia.
[ Laughter ]
-You just got back from the Middle East?
No wonder he thought Middle East peace was so easy.
He wasn't accounting for Israel.
What does he think the Middle East is?
"I had a great weekend.
We achieved peace between the Saudis and the Arabians.
Danced with swords, steak with ketchup, the whole thing."
Nonetheless, geographical slip-ups and tarmac hand slaps
are better than what is waiting for Trump back in the US,
where an investigation into
his campaign's ties to Russia is heating up.
We already know that Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey
because of the Russia investigation,
and we know that Trump asked Comey to drop his investigation
into former National Security Advisor
Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia.
Then on Friday, there was this bombshell.
-Just a short time after he left Washington,
word came out from The New York Times
about what the president said
to two Russian official at the White House
the day after he fired James Comey.
-The paper quoting the document based on notes taken
during the meeting in the Oval Office with President Trump
had the president saying...
-He's a real nut job?
You live in a jewelry box in the sky
and write your name on your plane
so you don't forget where you parked.
So there's now a record of
Trump telling the Russians in a private meeting
that he fired the FBI Director
to end the Russia investigation.
And now lawmakers and legal experts
are using a very specific, crucial phrase.
-If you just parse the words that Donald Trump says,
it does seem very close
to a confession of obstruction of justice.
-What the president did in firing James Comey
and then saying he did it to relieve pressure on himself
because of the FBI investigation
is the classic of obstruction of justice.
We no longer just have smoke.
We have a raging 10-alarm fire at the White House.
-At this point, an actual 10-alarm fire at the White House
would be an improvement.
Plus, it would be fun to see who would just stay inside.
"Sean, jump!"
"I'm good. This is better.
I like this more than my job."
[ Applause ]
Meanwhile, Kellyanne Conway
would probably walk out naked like the Mother of Dragons.
[ Laughter ]
So not only is Trump corrupt, he's incredibly naive, too.
He actually thought firing the FBI Director
would take the pressure off.
But of course, if anything,
the pressure seems to be increasing,
and not just on Trump.
There's also his disgraced
former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn,
who is under multiple investigations.
And today we learned that Flynn will plead the Fifth
and refuse to cooperate with the Russia probe.
Now, there are certainly
non-nefarious reasons to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
On the other hand, there are those who think
if you plead the Fifth Amendment,
you're definitely guilty.
Like this guy.
-Here's people taking the Fifth Amendment,
like you see on the mob, right?
You see the mob takes the Fifth.
If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?
When you have your staff taking the Fifth Amendment,
taking the Fifth, I think it's disgraceful.
The guy who set up the server, remember him?
And he pleaded the Fifth -- he pleaded the Fifth Amendment.
Wait, what are we gonna do with this guy?
He pleaded the Fifth and that was the end.
We never heard about him again. Boy, I'll tell you.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
This is like a third-world country, folks.
-Man, it's amazing.
Everything he does in office is contradicted
by something he said on the campaign trail.
Next we're gonna find an old Trump tweet that says...
[ Laughter ]
So Trump is abroad
essentially being treated like a toddler by foreign leaders.
And at home, there's mounting evidence
that he actively tried to obstruct justice
in the investigation of his Russia ties.
But we've still got a week until he comes back,
so bust out those "Doctor Who" T-shirts
and enjoy it while it lasts.
This has been "A Closer Look."
♪♪

Trump Goes Abroad Amid Escalating Russia Probe: A Closer Look

Latest Posts