Trump says he misspoke on Russian meddling during press conference, accepts US intel findings

President Trump said Tuesday that he misspoke when he seemed to dismiss allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, stating clearly that he accepts the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusions as he sought to quell a bipartisan firestorm over his press conference with Vladimir Putin.

The president clarified his remarks during a meeting with lawmakers at the White House, in a rare backtrack.

“I came back and said ‘What is going on, what’s the big deal?’” Trump said, adding that he reviewed the transcript and “realized that there is a need for some clarification.”

The president told reporters that he meant to say he doesn’t see why Russia “wouldn’t” be responsible.

“I said the word ‘would’ instead of ‘wouldn’t’ … sort of a double negative,” he said.

“I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place,” he said, adding: “It could be other people also.” – READ MORE

Regarding the opening press conference between the two leaders, the U.K. Express reached out to someone to read the tea leaves (so to speak) in Trump and Putin’s posture — and it’s something that’s going to have a lot of Democrats furious.

“Judi James, author and body language expert, told Express.co.uk the duo are not as friendly as the warm words from Trump would have you believe,” the paper reported.

“Both men arrived performing the kind of alpha posturing you normally see in a boxing ring, swaggering with puffed chests and in Trump’s case a mouth clamp plus what was bordering on a scowl to camera as both pulled at their jackets in what is commonly a ‘prepare to fight’ ritual,” James said.

“Putin was especially sphinx-like, returning little of the sparse eye contact he received from Trump and maintaining a poker face even after Trump’s ‘soccer’ flattery was being translated for him,” she added.

“Trump sat in his usual ‘Trump Slump’ pose with his legs splayed and his fingers in ‘downward steeple’ position to register macho dominance but this time his fingertips tapped together throughout which is a sign of impatience.

“Putin adopted a more elegant power pose, sitting upright with one elbow on the arm of the chair but as Trump spoke Putin’s other hands clasped the lower strut of the chair arm as though irritation could have been making him keen to go.