Trump “Misspoke On Russian Election Meddling”

Local Editor

The Washington political playbook called for US President Donald Trump to make clear—and fast—that the US wasn't in the pocket of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Tuesday, Trump relented, saying he misspoke on Russian election meddling.

Trump was under tremendous pressure by his own party to apologize for his remarks. With Putin at his side, Trump said Monday he didn't "see any reason why" Russia would try to interfere in the US election, speaking at a press conference during his summit meeting with Putin on July 16.

"He's got to reverse course immediately," said Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as Trump's White House communications director, told CNN early Tuesday.

Newt Gingrich, a close Trump ally, called it "the most serious mistake of his presidency" and tweeted that it "must be corrected immediately."

House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both piled on. Ryan said "there should be no doubt" about Russia's actions, while McConnell cited a "widespread view" among senators that Russia poses a threat to the US.

Early Tuesday morning, Trump was blaming "Fake News" on Twitter for mischaracterizing his meeting with Putin.

Then just hours later, he sharply reversed course, telling reporters he misspoke and that he meant to say he doesn't see why Russia "wouldn't" be responsible for election interference.

However, Trump stressed Russia's meddling had no effect on the elections' outcome.

Meanwhile, he remains under investigation for obstruction of justice, and special counsel Robert Mueller last week laid out detailed indictments of 12 Russian military officers for hacking Democrats' computers.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team