The White House announced Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will be to discuss “election security,” among other issues.
Even Fox News warned Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley the optics are bad for the same day the House revealed Articles of Impeachment.
Gidley disagreed.
“We’re told that this is about ‘arms control,'” Fox News Business’ Stuart Varney told Gidley on-air. “But it’s gonna look real bad – it’s gonna be ‘Russia Russia Russia – Sergei Lavrov.’ It’s going to get bad PR out of it,” Varney said.
“I don’t think so,” Gidley claimed. “Listen: These kind of conversations are critical to America’s well-being. The president talked about and campaigned about having a better relationship with Russia. So did the Democrats,” he claimed.
The Democrats did not.
“Absolutely we’re expected to talk about arms control, but also election security,” Gidley stated.
This is, as far as is publicly known, Lavrov’s secnd Oval Office meeting with President Trump. The two met in May of 2017, one day after Trump fired FBI Director Jim Comey. Trump that day also revealed code-word top secret information to the Russians.
As some have noted, speaking with Russian TV Lavrov recently mocked the idea of election security.
Asked how Russia was “getting ready” for the U.S. 2020 elections Lavrov responded, “We’ll resolve the problem. Don’t worry.”