Utter silence.
That’s what first met CNN’s Alisyn Camerota when she asked a group of loyal President Donald Trump supporters if they were bothered by allegations of connections between his associates and Russia.
“Everything we’ve heard is that they have not had any impact on what happened here,” Trump voter Sara Marie Brenner said on CNN’s “New Day” on Friday to explain why she wasn’t concerned by the accusations, which are the subject of separate investigations by the House, Senate and Justice Department.
“Wait a minute,” Camerota said. “Everything that we’ve heard is that more than a dozen intelligence agencies said they did meddle. Are you comfortable with that?”
“The Chinese try, the North Koreans try, that’s just part of international relations,” Brenner replied.
“It’s this collusion between Trump and Russia, that’s what’s false,” Trump voter Pax Hart added.
“They’re basing ‘collusion’ on whatever they have on Carter Page, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn,” Camerota said. “That’s what the FBI is investigating.”
One panelist cautioned that the US should be careful with Russia.
“I feel that there should be a mutual respect between the United States and Russia,” Toni DiBartolo said. “We should just listen to history in regards to Russia as far as walk softly and carry a big stick.”
“I think we need to let this Russia thing settle down and let the man be President,” Brenner said.
Last week, FBI Director James Comey appeared before the House intelligence committee for a public hearing and confirmed the FBI was investigating Trump’s campaign for potential collusion with Russia to bolster Trump’s electoral effort.
The FBI was party to a joint intelligence community assessment accusing Russia of attempting to influence the election. Russia has denied wrongdoing, as has Trump, who recently said on Twitter that the entire story was a “hoax.”