Trump at West Virginia rally: 'We didn't win because of Russia'

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Justin Merriman/Getty Images)

At a rally in Huntington, West Virginia, on Thursday night, President Trump thanked the audience in front of him for his election victory last year, saying: "We didn't win because of Russia, we won because of you. Are there any Russians here tonight? Any Russians?"

He also called the "Russian story" a "total fabrication. It is just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of American politics. That's all it is." Trump did not comment on any of the reports about Special Counsel Robert Mueller impaneling a grand jury in Washington, D.C., as part of the Russia probe, but did say he hopes Mueller's investigation will be "an honest one" because that's what "the millions of people who gave us our big win in November deserve and what all Americans who want a better future want and deserve."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.