Those who regularly defend the President and some who have worked in senior roles in his West Wing were incredulous Wednesday, cringing at the President's remarks

"It's really bad. It's really, really bad. He shouldn't say it, and if he were to do it, it would be impeachable. If a President took information from a foreign government that would be impeachable," a senior Republican source told CNN's Jamie Gangel.

"This is different from the campaign. The difference is, he is the President now, so he knows better. If you are president you cannot say, bring me oppo research -- if he does, that is impeachable," the source said.

But one person close to the President said they were not surprised, because Trump was publicly saying things that he's already said privately. This person described the comment as "classic Trump" -- refusing to back down and admit a mistake.

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