Rep. Dingell Questions Trump's Actions on Son's Russia Meeting

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., questioned President Donald Trump's judgment Monday concerning the meeting between his oldest son, Donald Jr., and campaign officials with Russians at Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential election, asking how he can "flip-flop" on such a crucial matter.

"Let's talk about the perception," Dingbell told CNN's "New Day."

"You're sending your son, a family member to talk with a foreign government that is an active enemy, a potential adversary of this country to talk about information you could use against your opponent? The optics of that are absolutely terrifying and very disturbing."

Over the weekend, Trump tweeted the meeting was legal, and was held to get information about Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Show co-host Alisyn Camerota pointed out "we don't know" if Trump sent his son or knew about it beforehand, but now "everyone" agrees the meeting was to get dirt on Clinton.

"He acknowledged his son went to the meeting with representatives of a country that [is] an adversary of this country," Dingell said. "It is very disturbing, period. The optics are very bad."

Dingell also discussed the president's tariffs, calling them a "very complicated" matter when it comes to the automaker industry in her state.

"The auto industry and the suppliers are concerned," she said. "The chaotic way, the way this administration does things, they have not consulted with the Congress or the companies he is impacting, he throws it out there, and you have to deal with this chaos."

There have been some companies that have seen some benefits, but the auto industry is "in a period of great uncertainty," Dingell said.

She added she tends to not deal directly with Trump, but she has spoken with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

"I think they have been trying to fight for the American worker in some ways but it has been done in a chaotic way," Dingell said. "It's the way that so many things happen at the White House. The president tweets something, and they have to go deal with it. The chaos of this is what the problem is. It is the 'Art of the Deal.' What is coming out at the end of this is the question."

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