One day after criticizing past leaders of U.S. intelligence agencies as “political hacks,” President Donald Trump clarified Sunday that he stands behind the agencies’ current leadership.
At a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, as he continues his 13-day Asia trip, Trump also said that he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin believes it when he says Moscow did not interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
But Trump made clear that he sides with U.S. intelligence agencies, which have concluded that Russia did meddle in the election.
“I believe that he feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election,” Trump said of Putin at the joint news conference with Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang.
“As to whether I believe it, I’m with our agencies,” the president added. “As currently led by fine people, I believe very much in our intelligence agencies.”
“As to whether I believe it, I’m with our agencies. As currently led by fine people, I believe very much in our intelligence agencies.”
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