Trump says Putin meeting is ‘in the works’ and slams collusion claims

President Donald Trump says a second meeting with Vladimir Putin ‘is in the works’ following a ‘tremendous discussion’ in Helsinki with the Russian leader. 

In an interview with CNBC that aired Friday morning but was taped a day prior, Trump returned to blaming the ‘fake news’ for the negativity surrounding his Putin summit.

He said that media claiming he should have scolded Putin publicly for election meddling ‘are fools’ who don’t understand ‘I want to make a deal.’ 

Trump dismissed suggestions that he could have underlying reasons for striking a conciliatory tone with Putin, arguing, ‘I have nothing to do with Russia. I never did.

‘It was a big hoax. It’s a hoax. It’s called the Democrat hoax. It’s a big fat hoax,’ Trump said. ‘I have nothing to do with Russia.’

President Donald Trump says a second meeting with Vladimir Putin ‘is in the works’ following a ‘tremendous discussion’ in Helsinki with the Russian leader

Trump says that media claiming he should have stood up to Putin publicly 'are fools' who don't understand 'I want to make a deal'

Trump says that media claiming he should have stood up to Putin publicly ‘are fools’ who don’t understand ‘I want to make a deal’

In an interview with CNBC that aired Wednesday morning but was taped a day prior, Trump returned to blaming the 'fake news' for the negativity surrounding his Putin summit

In an interview with CNBC that aired Wednesday morning but was taped a day prior, Trump returned to blaming the ‘fake news’ for the negativity surrounding his Putin summit

Trump had hinted at plans to hold a second face-to-face with the Russian leader just before the CNBC interview that aired Friday morning on ‘Squawk Box.’

The White House said later said that it was putting the pieces in place for Putin to come to Washington in the fall.    

‘Those discussions are already under way,’ White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders revealed in a late-afternoon tweet.

In an excerpt of the interview with CNBC released on Thursday, Trump charged that he’d be Putin’s ‘worst enemy’ if the relationship ‘doesn’t work out.’

He called former President Barack Obama a ‘total patsy’ for Russia in the same appearance. 

In the full interview Trump elaborated that his private meeting with Putin that only translators witnessed went on for more than two hours.   

‘It wasn’t always conciliatory in the meeting,’ he claimed. 

Trump said that terrorism, Syria, the Middle East, Iran and nuclear proliferation were major topics.

‘We discussed lots of good things for both countries, frankly,’ he contended, saying of the previous list, ‘basically that’s what we discussed.’

The president said that pundits and analysts have misunderstood his approach to Russia.

‘I had some of these fools from the media, saying why didn’t you stand there, look him in the face, walk over to him and start shouting at him?’ Trump remarked. ‘I said are these people crazy? I want to make a deal? I want to make a deal. You cant do that.’

Trump said, ‘That may be wrong. It may be that you can’t do anything. That’s very possible, but I’m different than other presidents. 

‘I’m a deal-maker. I’ve made deals all my life. I make great deals,’ he reminded.

PALS: First Lady Melania Trump poses with Presidents Putin and Trump after a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Finland

PALS: First Lady Melania Trump poses with Presidents Putin and Trump after a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Finland

The president says that pundits and analysts have misunderstood his approach to Russia

The president says that pundits and analysts have misunderstood his approach to Russia

'I had some of these fools from the media, saying why didn't you stand there, look him in the face, walk over to him and start shouting at him?' Trump remarked. 'I said are these people crazy? I want to make a deal? I want to make a deal. You cant do that'

‘I had some of these fools from the media, saying why didn’t you stand there, look him in the face, walk over to him and start shouting at him?’ Trump remarked. ‘I said are these people crazy? I want to make a deal? I want to make a deal. You cant do that’

Interviewer Joe Kernen offered Trump a lifeline, suggesting that he was validating Russia to put it in motion as a counterweight to China.

‘It doesn’t hurt, but I’m not even looking [at it] that way,’ Trump replied.

The U.S. leader said he mainly wants America and Russia to be able to work together on counterterrorism projects like the thwarted plot to attack St. Petersburg that the CIA warned Moscow about in December.

‘We informed them. I don’t think anybody even knows about that,’ Trump said of the widely-publicized effort and a grateful call from Putin.  

At the same time, Trump said he’s not afraid to confront Russia on areas of concern, like a pipeline deal with Germany that will pump billions into Moscow’s economy. He noted that he’d put more sanctions on Russia for its election interference and booted diplomats the United States says are spies.  

‘Obama didn’t do it. Obama was a patsy for Russia. He was a total patsy,’ he said. ‘Look at the statement he made when he though the mics were turned off. OK the stupid statement he made, nobody does a big deal about that.’

Trump was referring to a March 2012 incident in which a hot mic beamed Obama telling Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that he’d have ‘more flexibility’ to work with the Kremlin once he was reelected later that year.

‘Getting along is a positives, not a negative,’ Trump said of his relationship with Russia’s current president. ‘That being said, if that doesn’t work out, I’ll be the worst enemy he’s ever had, the worst he’s ever had.’

He added: ‘I think he knows that. I’ll be his worst nightmare, but I don’t think it will be that way. I actually think we’ll have a good relationship.’

As the clip that included the embarrassing slip-up from Obama that would later be used as an election-time slam by Republicans aired on Thursday, the White House was handling another Russia-related issue.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats had been caught off-guard by Trump’s outstretched hand to Putin.

He was participating in a televised interview with Andrea Mitchell at the Aspen Security Forum when the White House dropped the bomb that Putin would likely be coming to Washington.

‘Say that again,’ he replied, laughing at Mitchell’s declaration that Putin had been invited to meet with Trump at the White House. ‘Did I hear you?’ he asked, cupping his hand to his ear. 

The MSNBC host indicated that he had heard her correctly, leading Coats to breathe deeply before uttering the word, ‘OK.’

‘That’s gonna be special,’ he said candidly.

The scene was a perfect picture of the chaos that Trump’s summit with Putin had caused — especially their private talks. Government officials scrambled to keep up with what Trump allegedly, or even publicly, promised. 

President Trump continued to insist on Thursday in tweets that his summit with Putin was a ‘great success.’ He branded the media the ‘real enemy of the people.’ 

‘I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed, including stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear,’ he said in morning tweets, ‘proliferation, cyber attacks, trade, Ukraine, Middle East peace, North Korea and more.’

The president assessed, ‘There are many answers, some easy and some hard, to these problems…but they can ALL be solved!’ 

Sanders confirmed that a second meeting was in the works hours later on Twitter.

‘In Helsinki, @POTUS agreed to ongoing working level dialogue between the two security council staffs. President Trump asked @Ambjohnbolton to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway,’ she said.

The White House said later said that it was putting the pieces in place for Putin to come to Washington in the fall

The White House said later said that it was putting the pieces in place for Putin to come to Washington in the fall

A face-to-face with Putin could come at the time of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Putin did not make the trip to the U.S. last year to participate in the meeting that’s held annually in New York but could have a change in position this year as a result of Trump’s outreach.

President Trump has said in the past that President Putin would be welcome in Washington. The Kremlin disclosed that in a March 20 call Trump suggested they could have a White House summit.

The two presidents are sure to see each other again in November at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Trump and Putin met for the first time at last year’s meeting in Hamburg, Germany.

On Thursday officials at the White House did not respond to requests for clarification on the president’s assertion that he and Putin would meet for a second time. Sanders sent out her tweet more than six hours after DailyMail.com first inquired.

The topic may have come up during Trump’s one-on-one with Putin in Helsinki, Finland. However, only the he president and his translator would know on the U.S. side.

Sanders said Wednesday that she was not aware of a recording of the 135-minute meeting. A stenographer was not in the room at the time.

President Trump and his administration remain engulfed in the political firestorm that followed a joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki, Finland

President Trump and his administration remain engulfed in the political firestorm that followed a joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki, Finland

Trump’s administration has been engulfed in a political firestorm since the Monday meeting with Putin. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and the media have been deriding Trump’s news conference with the Russian leader that took place in Helsinki.

The president used his favorite form of attack on the press again on Thursday, calling them ‘the fake news media’ to complain that the coverage is ‘total fiction.’ 

‘The Fake News Media is going Crazy! They make up stories without any backup, sources or proof. Many of the stories written about me, and the good people surrounding me, are total fiction. Problem is, when you complain you just give them more publicity. But I’ll complain anyway!,’ he wrote on Twitter. 

He did not specific any particular news story or report. 

In another tweet he charged that the media with preferring to go to war instead of him having a good relationship with Putin.

‘The Fake News Media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with Russia, even a confrontation that could lead to war. They are pushing so recklessly hard and hate the fact that I’ll probably have a good relationship with Putin. We are doing MUCH better than any other country!,’ he wrote. 

The White House has inundated with a flood of bad press, tweets criticizing them from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and the intelligence community, plus a statement from their own Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, countering his boss, the president.

The siege resulted from the president appearing deferential to his Russian counterpart during their press conference in Helsinki.

The president and his staff have attempted to walk back and clarify his comments numerous times since his return to the White House Monday evening. 

First, Trump said he misspoke when he said that he did not have ‘any reason’ to believe that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Then, Sanders said Trump replied ‘no’ to a reporter asking if Russia is still interfering in U.S. elections because he was trying to cut off questions.

Another reversal came Thursday, when the the White House said that Trump would not allow Moscow’s investigators to interrogate perceived critics of Putin’s regime.

President Trump called the proposal, which Putin voiced in response to a question about whether he would extradite 12 Russian intelligence officer accused of hacking the 2016 presidential election, an ‘incredible offer’ during a news conference Monday. 

Under pressure to denounce the demand, the White House said Thursday that Trump ‘disagrees’ with Putin.

‘It is a proposal that was made in sincerity by President Putin, but President Trump disagrees with it,’ Sanders said. ‘Hopefully President Putin will have the 12 identified Russians come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt.’

Americans who Putin wanted to interrogate, including the former U.S. ambassador to to Russia Michael McFaul, expressed astonishment at the proposal. The State Department called it ‘absolutely absurd’ at a Wednesday news conference.   

Trump attacked the media in a twitter rant on Thursday morning

Trump attacked the media in a twitter rant on Thursday morning

He charged the media with wanting war with Russia

He charged the media with wanting war with Russia

It's unclear what Trump meant by a 'second meeting' - whether a one-on-one or a future gathering of world leaders

It’s unclear what Trump meant by a ‘second meeting’ – whether a one-on-one or a future gathering of world leaders

In an interview with CBS this week, Trump took a much tougher line on Putin.

Trump stated without hedging that Russia meddled in the election, although on Tuesday he raised the possibility someone else also could have been hacking.

‘You say you agree with U.S. intelligence that Russia meddled in the election in 2016,’ Glor asked him.

Trump replied: ‘Yeah and I’ve said that before, Jeff. I have said that numerous times before, and I would say that is true, yeah.’

But he also went after former top intelligence officials when asked if they were ‘out to get you.’

‘Well certainly in the past it’s been terrible. You look at [former CIA Director John] Brenna, you look at [former DNI James] Clapper, you look at [former NSA chief Michael] Hayden,’ Trump began.

Then he listed former FBI director James Comey, former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, FBI lawyer Peter Strzrok and ‘his lover, Lisa Page.’

‘You look at other people in the FBI that have been fired that are no longer there,’ Trump said.   

The White House itself has gone back and forth on what Trump said and what he meant since Monday’s press conference, where he agreed with Putin’s denial that Russia interfered in the 2016 election over the assessments from U.S. intelligence agencies that Moscow meddled in the presidential contest. 

Trump himself has given several interviews at different times in the wake of the press conference. He gave interviews to Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson in Helsinki shortly after the press conference ended. 

While Hannity’s aired Monday night, Carlson’s didn’t air until Tuesday, after Trump spoke to the media in an attempt to clarify what he said in his press conference. 

The president told also told CBS News on Wednesday he took a tough stance with Putin in Helsinki

The president told also told CBS News on Wednesday he took a tough stance with Putin in Helsinki

The president also spoke to CBS News on Wednesday, followed by CNBC on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the president gave an on-camera statement to the press where he said accepts his intelligence community’s assessment that Russia meddled in the election and noted he meant to say in his press conference that he had no reason to doubt the professionals within his administration.

‘I accept our intelligence community conclusion that Russian meddling in the 2016 election took place,’ Trump said. ‘Could be other people also, a lot of people out there,’ he added. ‘There’s no collusion at all.’ 

Trump said he was surprised by the firestorm that awaited him when he arrived on Monday in Washington and realized he needed to ‘clear up’ his comments after reviewing the transcript of his presser with Putin. The president said that he has the ‘greatest respect’ for his intelligence chiefs.

‘The sentence should have been, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia,’ Trump said. ‘So you can put that in. I think that probably clarifies things pretty good by itself.’

Trump stressed in 15 minutes of remarks that he did not mean to give Putin a pass for election hacking. In fact, he said, unlike his predecessor, ‘who totally buried it,’ his administration, by contrast, ‘has taken a very firm stance’ against Russia’s bad behavior. 

Sarah Huckabee Sanders used her briefing Wednesday to criticize the media for slamming Trump's presser with Putin

Sarah Huckabee Sanders used her briefing Wednesday to criticize the media for slamming Trump’s presser with Putin

The confusion continued on Wednesday, when at a cabinet meeting amid shouting as the press was being escorted out of the room, the president was asked whether he believes Russia is still targeting the U.S. He said: ‘Thank you very much. No.’

The media reported what the president said.

But later in the day, at her briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump wasn’t answering that question; he was saying ‘no’ to further questions. 

‘I got a chance to speak with the President after his comments, and the President was — said, ‘Thank you very much,’ and was saying ‘no’ to answering questions,’ she said.

Sanders also used her briefing to attack the meeting.

She was asked about the arrest of Maria Butina, the red-haired Russian gun activist who was indicted by the Justice Department for working as foreign agent.

Sanders said the White House was watching the situation and then slammed the media for a photo that went around social media that claimed Butina was in the Oval Office.

A reporter from Mic tweeted the photo on Tuesday and wrote erroneously that the red-haired woman in it was the Russian. The tweet was retweeted many times before it was deleted an hour later after the woman was identified as a White House staffer.

‘There was a massive media hysteria yesterday over confusion between that individual and a White House staffer, which I think shows, frankly, the outrageousness and the, just, desire to find the negative in everything that this President does. Just because somebody was simply redheaded, they were accused of being some sort of spy for Russia,’ Sander said from the podium on Wednesday. 

‘I think that this has gotten totally out of control, and you guys need to take a little bit of a step back, slow down, and quit going after the Trump administration on every single thing that takes place,’ Sanders said. 

The White House itself has gone back and forth on what Trump said and what he meant since Monday's press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin

The White House itself has gone back and forth on what Trump said and what he meant since Monday’s press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin

Trump, in his CBS interview, said he told Putin directly that ‘We can’t have any of that’ when it comes to Russian interference with the U.S. elections.

Asked by Glor what he told Putin, Trump responded: ‘Very strong on the fact that we can’t have meddling, we can’t have any of that.’ He says he ‘let him know we can’t have this, we’re not going to have it, and that’s the way it’s going to be.’

He told CNBC on Thursday that he still believes that ‘getting along with President Putin, getting along with Russia, is positive, not a negative.’  

He also claimed that he has been ‘far tougher on Russia than any president in many, many years.’

‘Maybe ever,’ he asserted.

 



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