At Camp David, Trump lashes out at book, defends Russia actions

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sought the mountain retreat of Camp David on Saturday to block out the swirling political winds of the nation’s capital and plot legislative strategy with top Republican congressional leaders.

But the private huddle at the wooded presidential grounds was interrupted by the bombshell book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which raised questions about the president’s mental stability and prompted a spirited response by the president about his intellect.

In a Twitter blast Saturday, Trump said that to become president on his first campaign for the office “would qualify as not smart, but genius….and a very stable genius at that!”

And in questions later at Camp David, Trump told reporters he was an excellent student in college, a successful businessman, had a TV career and now sits in the White House.

Trump said the author of the book, Michael Wolff, “doesn’t know me at all.”

“I don’t know this man,” Trump said, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and congressional Republican leaders who participated in a two-day summit with the president.

The president called the book a “work of fiction” and the author, “a fraud.”

Trump answered a wide range of questions for about 10 minutes.

He said his 2016 presidential campaign did not collude with Russians, and denied charges he tried to obstruct an investigation by trying to prevent Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusal in the case.

“There’s been no collusion, no crime,” Trump said.

“Everything I have done is 100 percent proper,” he said

Trump also said he is open to talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but not without conditions. Trump said the recently announced talks between North and South Korea were the result of his toughness in dealing with North Korea.

The president also predicted Republicans would be successful in 2018 elections, and that bipartisan deals could be reached with Democrats on domestic issues like a budget bill, immigration reform, border security and plans to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other GOP congressional leaders huddled privately with the president Friday and Saturday to map out policy goals ahead of midterm elections.

Republican leaders are grappling with a Jan. 19 deadline on a stopgap spending bill that is keeping the government operating on 2017 funding levels.

And unlike passage of the tax bill, which required simple majorities in the House and Senate, Republicans need support from Democrats to reach an eventual budget deal that raises spending caps for the military and homeland security.

Democrats are balking at Republican proposals to trim domestic spending to increase funds for the Pentagon and to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

And they want Republican support for an immigration reform bill that reinstates protections against deportation of the 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought into this country illegally, including 12,000 in Nevada.

Republican senators met with Trump this week at the White House on immigration, and some, including, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said differences were narrowed and a deal could be reached soon.

Cornyn was one of the leaders who were at the Camp David summit, along with Trump Cabinet members. The lawmakers were treated to a movie Friday night: “The Greatest Showman,” a 2017 musical that celebrates the vision of P.T. Barnum, who created the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Meanwhile, Trump said he was hopeful a deal would be reached with Democrats on immigration reform.

The president is inviting a bipartisan group of senators to sit down this week to discuss a negotiated deal.

Trump reiterated his demand that any deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which provides protections from deportation, must also provide for funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called a wall “absurdly” expensive and ineffective.

Democrats, under pressure from immigration advocates, have threatened to withhold support for future spending legislation without an extension on DACA.

Democratic leaders Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., met with Ryan, McConnell and White House budget officials last week to begin negotiations on a budget bill, DACA and other spending issues.

Republicans hold a razor-thin 51-49 majority in the Senate, following a Democratic victory in Alabama.

The GOP will need 60 votes to overcome parliamentary hurdles and pass legislation.

The goal for Republican leaders at Camp David is to align policy goals against the backdrop of the midterm elections, said GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak.

“The midterms are part of this, but everyone is on the same page that good policy is good politics,” Mackowiak said.

Republicans are unlikely to produce truly bipartisan legislation, and Democrats have little incentive to help Republicans pass popular legislation, said Kyle Kondik with the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Democrats see potential House and Senate gains following elections in 2017, and Trump’s current approval rating remains historically low.

If the environment for Democrats remains good throughout the year, Kondik said Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., “will have a difficult path to re-election.”

But Republicans are eyeing incumbent Senate Democrats in states like North Dakota and West Virginia, “so there are competing forces at work,” Kondik said.

Trump, at Camp David, said Republicans would succeed in 2018. And he predicted legislative victories.

Trump and Republican leaders are eyeing an infrastructure bill, which Democrats also want, that would pump federal spending into states to rebuild crumbling roads, bridges and other capital improvements.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.