Former CIA Director John Brennan suggested in an interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin could have planted a microchip in the presidential limousine when he joined Donald Trump for a ride to their summit.
Speaking on MSNBC’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Brennan criticized Trump’s handling of the meeting with Putin and said he hoped the Secret Service carried out a thorough sweep after the two rode together.
“The fact that he was given a ride then in the presidential limousine, the Beast — I certainly hope the Secret Service has swept that vehicle very well, in terms of any type of small microchip that might have been put in the vehicle,” Brennan said.
He pointed to Putin’s KGB background and described him as a skilled manipulator. On the optics of the summit, Brennan said it was clear Putin felt confident from the moment he arrived.
“Again, an international pariah, a war criminal, who was basically embraced by the president of the United States on a red carpet in the United States,” Brennan said. “So I think you could see on Putin’s face, he felt very, very comfortable.”
Trump welcomed Putin at a U.S. air base with a red-carpet greeting, clapped as the Russian leader approached, and then rode with him in the presidential limo before the summit, which focused on ending the war in Ukraine.
Brennan described the display as “shameful” and argued Trump realized during the day that he was being played by Putin.
“But also, I think Donald Trump just put himself in this position. He was the one who offered this meeting. He was the one who invited Putin to U.S. territory. He was the one that put together the summit that clearly there was very little preparation for, and they came out empty-handed,” Brennan said.
He added that the outcome was “embarrassing, shameful, and very worrisome” for the U.S., stressing that Trump effectively normalized Putin despite the suffering and devasta tion in Ukraine.