In an attempt to deflect away from the growing scandal involving Russia in his administration, Donald Trump took to Twitter over the weekend and accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower in New York City. In response, questions were quickly raised, with many reacting negatively to the president's unfounded allegations.
CNN on Trump
Starting from the early days of the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump has been pushing back against allegations that he is linked in someway to the Russian government. Whether it's his constant praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, keeping his tax returns hidden, or various members of his staff being tied to the Kremlin, Trump has done his best to deny any wrongdoing.
The scandal took on a life of its own after it was revealed that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee with the goal of electing Trump, and only intensified when retired Gen. Michael Flynn, and current Attorney General Jeff Sessions where found to be commentating with Russian officials over the last year. After Trump went on to push the unverified conspiracy that Obama had Trump Tower bugged, a CNN host decided to chime in on March 6.
(Cuomo's comments begin at 1:40 in the above video.)
During an early morning CNN segment on Monday, host Chris Cuomo couldn't hold back his thoughts on Donald Trump and his wiretapping theory. "This was a couple of coins into the conspiracy meter," Cuomo noted.
"Joe Scarborough, who is an on-and-off friend with him, called the president of the United States crazy," Cuomo went on to say of the MSNBC host, highlighting that even those close to Trump at one point are no longer on his side.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo nails Trump’s wiretap claims: This is like the fire chief pulling the fire alarm https://t.co/IFP7BCOY0z #NewDay pic.twitter.com/s5K5A44vre
— Raw Story (@RawStory) March 6, 2017
After panel guest David Gregory compared Trump's claims to a student in high school pulling the fire alarm in an attempt to cause chaos, Chris Cuomo took it a step further.
"In your analogy, it would be the fire chief pulling the lever, because all he has to do is call the FBI," Cuomo said. Not stopping there, the CNN host also pointed out that the former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, confirmed that no wiretapping to place at the hands of the Obama administration, citing comments made on NBC's "Meet the Press" over the weekend.
At a different point in the show, Cuomo also referenced that Trump has a habit of taking issues with only a slither of truth, and exaggerating them to fit his narrative.
President Trump has made inflammatory accusations without offering prove, and it's not the first time https://t.co/INO4rMI3E9
— New Day (@NewDay) March 6, 2017
Moving forward
As of press time, the White House has not presented any credible evidence to back up the allegation against Barack Obama. Despite this, the Donald Trump administration and many in the right-wing media are sticking by the president's tweets, while a spokesman for Obama referred to the claim as "simply false."