Dem ‘astounded’ by how much Trump casts himself as victim

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Thursday said he is “astounded” by the way President Trump often casts himself as a victim.

“Anything that the president finds that detracts from him or is critical of him or is a negative news story about him is all fake, it’s all a witch hunt, everybody’s out to get him,” Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“I’m continually astounded by the degree to which the president of the United States paints himself as a victim of everything.”

{mosads}Trump also acts as though the U.S. is a “victim of the rest of the world, rather than the strongest power in the world,” Schiff said.

Schiff added that there are “obviously” good reasons to investigate the Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

“I think the president can’t come to grips with the Russian intervention in our affairs because he views it as a threat to his legitimacy,” he said.

“But he has a job to do as president of the United States.”

The president needs to rise above his self interests and think about the country, Schiff said. 

He added that the country is depending on its commander-in-chief to “push back hard” against Russian intervention and its efforts to “diminish democracy and human rights.”

“And he is not living up to that responsibility,” Schiff said, “and we need him to.”

President Trump has decried the Russia probe as a “witch hunt,” and often goes after the media for its stories on the issue.

In recent days, Trump has specifically targeted CNN after the network retracted a story published last week tying a top Trump ally to a Russian investment bank.