Nikki Haley finds herself under the bus as Trump shifts course on Russia

Trump publicly made a fool of Haley.



Nikki Haley finds herself under the bus as Trump shifts course on Russia

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/04/16/nikki-haley-finds-herself-under-the-bus-as-trump-shifts-course-on-russia/?utm_term=.ec42421e663e


by Aaron Blake April 16 at 3:17 PM Email the author

The Washington Post reported late Sunday that President Trump “has battled his top aides on Russia and lost.”

Less than 20 hours later, Trump reversed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s announcement that the United States would be ramping up sanctions on Russia.

Hmm.

The sudden reversal of Haley’s Sunday morning announcement is hardly the only example of the right hand in the White House not always knowing what the left hand is up to. Trump often seems to be negotiating not just those around him but also with himself, and he has been unafraid of contradicting top aides and even Cabinet-level officials such as Haley.

But on Russia and on an issue of such import, the quick reversal is stunning — and relatively rare. There is no clear indication whether Haley or someone else is at fault, but as The Post’s team notes, she has a tendency to clear her remarks with Trump personally before she makes them. It seems entirely possible that she got Trump to sign off on saying more Russia sanctions were coming on Sunday morning, and then the White House got cold feet (possibly because Trump suddenly felt the need to exert his influence over the process).

A look back at Haley’s remarks Sunday leaves little doubt that she appeared on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” with the clear purpose of announcing the sanctions. It was the second answer she provided, and she volunteered the information rather than being lured into saying something that perhaps wasn’t ready for public consumption............................................