Trump alleges 'many' intelligence officials 'loved' his Putin press conference

(Image credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

published 18 July 2018

President Trump on Wednesday morning touted his Monday press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a success, tweeting that "many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki."

During the conference, Trump seemed to go against U.S. intelligence agencies by questioning whether Russia really meddled in the 2016 election, saying he didn't "know any reason why it would be" Russia. Afterwards, the intelligence community appeared in distress. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats quickly followed up with a statement reaffirming Russia's "ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy." Likewise, CNN notes, every current U.S. intelligence head who has testified on the issue, and the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee, have all confirmed Russia's involvement.

Trump's latest tweets come one day after he walked back his claim that Russia didn't meddle, after widespread criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.