Trump Tweets That Russia “Helped” Him Win Election, Then Contradicts Himself Minutes Later

President Donald Trump told reporters early Thursday that he does not believe Russia’s government helped him win the 2016 election, a statement that appeared to contradict what he said in a tweet about the subject that same morning.

“No, Russia did not help me get elected,” Trump said right before heading to Colorado. Less than 30 minutes earlier, the president had posted the following on Twitter about Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation into Russian meddling in 2016.

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Trump drew further ire from Democratic lawmakers in the days after Mueller’s full report on his probe was released following news that he called Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Putin recently praised Mueller’s two-year inquiry for being “objective” and for finding no evidence of collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Kremlin. During a press conference following a summit between the two leaders in Helsinki, Finland last July, Trump famously said he believed Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies regarding the conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Trump also blasted Mueller as being “conflicted” and again accused Democrats of pushing fake conspiracy theories against him.