The Atlantic

Trump's Furious Tweetstorm Backfires

The president tried to distance himself from the story of Russian interference—and in the process, thrust himself right back into the center of the narrative.
Source: Eric Thayer / Reuters

Donald Trump didn’t have any control over the decision by Russia’s Internet Research Agency  to mount what it called “information warfare against the United States of America.” As the indictment released on Friday stated, the effort began in 2014, long before Trump was a declared candidate—much less a serious one—for office.

But by refusing to take information warfare seriously—in an attempt to distance himself from it and any questions it might raise about the legitimacy of his election—the president has paradoxically made the story about himself again and again.

This solipsism was

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