What this is really about is motivation and agenda. In the cases of prior administrations you could always question the wisdom of policy decisions, particularly in matters of military situations and diplomacy. That is, you could think something was too light, too heavy. You could even question whether the administration had its ducks in a row and that the decision was made on correct information. But, you never questioned whether the motive was personal, was dictated by a financial or similar agenda on the part of the President.
The problem we have here is that the evidence of Trump acting in his own self interest in these matter is mounting. He has repeatedly stood down to Russian wishes and to Saudi positions, adopting them as his own, and under circumstances that naturally make you wonder if Trump, right or wrong, is acting out of his own personal interests.
So now every time something like this comes up, it is automatic to wonder if Trump's response is based on his best policy judgment (and the judgments of those around him), or is another example of him lying to help himself.
