Trump: I Asked Putin Twice if He Interfered in the U.S. Elections

The President of the United States, in an exclusive interview with Reuters, stated that he directly asked Russian President Vladimir Putin twice whether he interfered in the U.S. elections. Trump also mentioned that he had no knowledge of his son's meeting with a Russian lawyer. A part of Donald Trump's interview with Reuters pertains to the accusations from the U.S. intelligence community against Russia, focusing on 'interference' in last year's election process and reports regarding a 'directive' from Vladimir Putin for such potential actions. Trump referred to his recent meeting with Putin—the first of its kind since the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States—saying he directly asked his Russian counterpart if he interfered in the elections: 'I said, 'Did you do this?' and he said, 'No, I didn't. Not at all.' Then I asked him a second time, this time in a completely different way. He said, 'Not at all.' In response to Reuters regarding whether he believes these answers, the U.S. President stated: 'Look! Something happened, and we need to understand what it is. Because we cannot allow something like this to happen in the election process. Therefore... something happened, and we need to understand what it is.' Trump mentioned that someone said if Putin did this (interference), nothing would happen to him. This is a very interesting point. The U.S. President described Putin and also Xi Jinping, the President of China, as politicians seeking to fulfill their country's interests: 'I am not a person who trusts many other people. But he (Putin) is the President of Russia. That (country) is the second most powerful nuclear country in the world. I am the leader of America. I love my country. He loves his country.' Donald Trump, as before, emphasized that there was no connection between his campaign and Russian officials, which is part of ongoing investigations in Congress and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. From Trump's perspective, the Democratic Party is looking for an excuse to justify Hillary Clinton's defeat, his opponent in the 2016 election. He stated in part of his interview that considering the differences between U.S. and Russian interests on issues such as energy market competition and military capabilities, he would like to ask Putin whether he actually supported him. Accusations regarding Russian interference in the U.S. election process have taken on a new dimension in recent days, especially with reports about Trump's son meeting with a Russian lawyer and emails exchanged in this regard. A part of the Reuters interview with the U.S. President also relates to this issue. The U.S. President, while again supporting his son, said that 'until just a few days ago when he heard about this,' he had no knowledge of his son's meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer. The meeting between Trump's son and several senior members of his campaign team occurred during last year's competition after Ms. Veselnitskaya claimed to have damaging information about Hillary Clinton's campaign. According to the exchanged emails in this regard, a person named Rob Goldstone, known for lobbying, told Donald Trump Jr. that providing this information was part of Russia's support for Mr. Trump. Donald Trump's son responded, 'If what you say is true, I love it,' and subsequently had a meeting with the Russian lawyer. Donald Trump Jr., in an interview with Fox News, described the atmosphere created as 'ridiculous' and 'exaggerated,' stating that his father had no knowledge of the meeting last year. Trump also defended his son yesterday, stating that his actions and the release of emails show that he 'acted transparently and is innocent.'