Sheldon Whitehouse: I Don’t Think Republicans Have Much Effect on Trump

‘I don’t think they have much effect on the president’

RUSH EXCERPT: 
BLITZER: "After the president accused the FBI of spying on his campaign, Paul Ryan and Richard burr are both now rejecting that accusation by the president. They’re insisting that the FBI acted appropriately. How much influence do you believe those comments from these Republican leaders have on the president and how much influence do they have on your Republican colleagues in Congress?"
WHITEHOUSE: "I don’t think they have much effect on the president. I think they’re into desperate times require desperate measures mode. And having some Republicans agree that these claims that they’ve made are ridiculous doesn’t really change their desperate measures. I do think, though, that when representative Gowdy and senator burr and Speaker Ryan all line up and say that is a ridiculous assertion, we expect the FBI to come in on a counter intelligence matter and find out if the Russians are infiltrating a political campaign, that is not spying. That is traditional counter intelligence designed to protect our country. If they didn’t do that, it would be a scandal. That to me makes a lot of sense. But you’ve got to separate the strategy of the trump white House from what makes sense and what’s truthful. I do think this creates a bit of a buttress for the president trying to push too far with all of this. Desperate people do nevertheless have boundaries. I think as he pushes these desperate boundaries, when he gets pushback from the Republicans, it makes something of a difference in the circles around him. Don mcgahn, for instance."

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