President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Russia is no longer targeting the United States and that no other president has ever been tougher on the country.
After a Cabinet meeting in the White House, Trump was asked by a reporter if Russia was still targeting the US, and he responded, “No,” directly contradicting what his director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, said Monday.
“We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy,” Coats said.
Trump went on to say he has been tougher on Russia than any other US president.
“We’re doing very well, probably as well as anybody has ever done with Russia. There’s been no president ever as tough as I have been on Russia,” he said.
“I think President (Vladimir) Putin knows that better than anybody, certainly a lot better than the media,” the President added. “He understands it and he’s not happy about it and he shouldn’t be happy about it because there’s never been a President as tough on Russia as I have been.”