Left-wing icon Noam Chomsky, an MIT professor, author, philosopher, and frequent debate opponent of the late conservative William F. Buckley Jr., said the news stories about the Trump presidential campaign somehow "colluding" with Russia were "a joke" and "not a major issue," but they are tearing away at a positive element of the Trump administration -- the drive to reduce tensions with Russia.

During the April 4 edition of Democracy Now! panelist Juan Gonzalez noted that Chomsky had referred to the Trump-Russia issue as "a joke," and asked the professor, "Could you give us your view on what’s happening and why there’s so much emphasis on this particular issue?"