'Whack job': Twitter war breaks out between Trump and ex-Clinton campaign aide John Podesta
A Twitter war broke out Friday after President Donald Trump blasted John Podesta and the former Clinton campaign chairman launched a seven-tweet salvo directed at "our whack job POTUS."
On the second day of his European trip to the G-20 summit, Trump took to Twitter to criticize Podesta.
"Everyone here is talking about why John Podesta refused to give the DNC server to the FBI and the CIA. Disgraceful!" the president tweeted.
Podesta, who said he saw the tweet during a cross-country road trip with his wife, uncorked a seven-tweet reply, referring to Trump as a "whack job" and admonishing him to "get a grip, man."
Later Friday, Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for their first face-to-face meeting. In a brief public meeting, Putin said he was "delighted" to meet Trump, and the two men shook hands.
Podesta suggested that Trump should ask Putin about the emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee and Podesta's own email account. Several U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the hacks were deliberate attempts by Russia to influence the presidential election.
Some journalists and commentators have questioned the accuracy of Trump's tweet, which appears to conflate the DNC hack and the hack of Podesta's email.
Podesta himself offered a clarification, in less neutral terms:
Podesta finished his tweet storm by reminding the president why he was in Europe, saying "Dude, get your head in the game. You're representing the US at the G20."
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