Defends CIA nominee Gina Haspel despite torture record

Trump vigorously defended his CIA director nominee Gina Haspel against concerns over her role in the agency's post-9/11 torture program. He tweeted that she was "under fire" because she was "too tough on Terrorists," dismissing moral and legal objections to waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques she had overseen.

“My highly respected nominee for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, has come under fire because she was too tough on Terrorists. Think of that, in these very dangerous times, we have the most qualified person, a woman, who Democrats want OUT because she is too tough on terror. Win Gina!” — Twitter, May 7, 2018 Quote verified against source