Trump says Russia rumors are a 'ridiculous' excuse to deny his 'massive landslide victory'

In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace airing Sunday morning, President-elect Donald Trump called "ridiculous" the CIA's conclusion that Russia attempted to manipulate the election to help him win.

"It's just another excuse. I don't believe it," said the president-elect. "Every week it's another excuse. We had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the Electoral College." Trump reiterated his position that the intelligence analysts' assessment cannot be trusted, arguing that "hacking is very interesting" because "once they hack, if you don't catch them in the act you're not going to catch them" — which Trump said means U.S. intelligence agencies have "no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place."

In the same conversation, Trump addressed his once-weekly intelligence briefings, a far sparser schedule than is typical for the president-elect at this stage. "I don't have to be told — you know, I'm, like, a smart person," he said. "I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years." He noted that Vice President-elect Mike Pence is being briefed more often, which by Trump's logic raises the question of whether Pence is, like, not a smart person.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up