Was Donald Trump’s decision to bomb a Syrian airfield driven chiefly by an urge to halt the rumors of election year collusion between his campaign and the Russian government?
Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Representative Seth Moulton suggested the possibility during a recent appearance on Fox News’s Tucker Carlson Tonight.
“This could very well be interpreted as an attempt by the administration to get out from under the claim that they’re colluding with Russia,” Moulton suggested.
“Wow, that’s really sneaky,” the host Carlson said in response.
Carlson then ticked off developments occurring under Trump that “the Russians should hate for good reason,” such as building up America’s “nuclear arsenal,” deregulating the energy sector, and backing the Keystone XL pipeline.
Carlson later pointed out that Trump “bombed a country where Russian groups are stationed and propping up the regime” of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“Right, and called the Russians to make sure their troops got out of the way,” Moulton said in response, questioning why Trump let Russian forces know of his plan to strike Syria instead of Congress. “He didn’t consult with us before calling the Russians.”
Carlson proceeded to pounce on the conspiratorial notion floated by Moulton that Trump’s decision to drop a bomb on a Syrian military base was the result of a ruse. Moulton later tried to backtrack on the suggestion.
“This conspiracy is a lot deeper than what I thought it was,” Carlson said. “So you’re saying now that the military action we just saw on Thursday night [April 6] may have been coordinated with the Russians to throw sleuths like you off the scent.”
“The reality is that I’m just giving it to you as a plausible explanation,” Moulton said. “I’m just saying that there are people who think that.”
Moulton then tried to turn the tables on Carlson, asking the Fox News host why he is “opposed to having an independent, bipartisan investigation into what’s going on?”
“You’re changing the subject,” Carlson answered. “If you can put one together, I guess I’d be for it.”
