As the scandal surrounding Russia heats up, Donald Trump has been backed into a corner on how to handle the pressure. With a Special Counsel recently appointed to look over the investigation, the reaction from many Americans was not positive.
Trump's decision
It didn't take long after Donald Trump announced his campaign for president that he was hit with allegations of being in cahoots with Russia.
After refusing to release his tax returns, the president caused increased speculation over what he could be hiding in his financial information. After his controversial praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, several advisers and associates were found to have been linked, in one way or another, back to the Kremlin. Over the last month, Trump has faced new information that casts a dark shadow over his administration. In the aftermath of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly trying to set up a back channel line of communication with Russia, and the questionable firing of James Comey as head of the FBI, former FBI Director Robert Mueller was tapped to be the special counsel to the Russian investigation.
As reported by PBS Newshour's Judy Woodruff on June 12, Trump is considering firing Mueller.
In a tweet by Judy Woodruff on Monday night, the PBS Newshour anchor revealed shocking information. "@ChrisRuddyNMX tells me Pres Trump is 'considering perhaps terminating' Robert Mueller as special counsel," she posted to social media. Chris Ruddy is a well-known source and current CEO of Newsmax, and elaborated further during Monday's broadcast on PBS.
Twitter reaction
Not long after the news broke that Donald Trump could soon fire the man hired to oversee the Russian investigation, the issue started to trend on Twitter. "If DT fires Robert Mueller, we officially pass Watergate & Trump becomes most corrupt POTUS of greatest scandal in US history," actor and director Rob Reiner tweeted out.
"If Trump really is considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller, he'll be impeached. Can Trump be THAT stupid?" Jon Cooper rhetorically asked. "If Donald Trump fires Robert Mueller and is allowed to do so, pick up a goddamn brick. That's all that's left to you," David Simon tweeted.
"Note to media: please stop saying you 'can't imagine' Trump would actually fire the special prosecutor. Of course you can imagine it," MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell wrote. "Source close to Trump says the president 'is being advised by many people' NOT to fire special prosecutor Robert Mueller," CNN's Jim Acosta added. As the reaction poured in on social media, it was clear that the president's decision could become a major moment in the current investigation and scandal.