Trump: Intelligent People Loved My Putin Press Conference

Donald Trump can’t seem to make up his mind on whether or not he made a mistake at his press conference with Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday, he claimed he misspoke when he said he couldn’t see any reason why Russia would have interfered in the 2016 election. But first thing Wednesday morning, he seemed to be lavishing praise on his own performance again, claiming that smart people loved it and only “haters” didn’t like it—presumably including Newt Gingrich, Fox & Friends, and Paul Ryan, all of whom have criticized his showing. “So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki,” he wrote in an early morning tweet. “Putin and I discussed many important subjects at our earlier meeting. We got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match. Big results will come!” In a second tweet, the president added: “While the NATO meeting in Brussels was an acknowledged triumph, with billions of dollars more being put up by member countries at a faster pace, the meeting with Russia may prove to be, in the long run, an even greater success. Many positive things will come out of that meeting.”