Fox Business Network’s Trish Regan pressed President Donald Trump on his Helsinki press conference during a Tuesday night interview, asking why he wasn’t tougher on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During a dual press conference with Putin in Helsinki, Finland in July, Trump said he did not “see any reason why” Russia would be behind interference in the 2016 presidential election. (RELATED: Establishment Media Stunned By Trump, Putin Press Conference)
WATCH:
Regan told Trump, “I gotta ask ya, you know, Helsinki — you got a lot of criticisms, including from me, full disclosure.”
“I wondered why you weren’t tougher on Putin,” she said.
“Trish, if I was tough — it’s easier for me to be tough,” Trump replied. “When I was very tough with North Korea, with Kim Jong Un, everyone said I was going to cause nuclear war.”
“Everybody said, ‘he’s too tough on North Korea’ … with Putin, I’m going to go up and have a boxing match with him on stage?” the president said. “Having a good relationship with Russia would be a good thing, not a bad thing. This stupid [Mueller] investigation hurts us from having a good relationship.”
Regan asked if Trump demanded Putin quit election meddling during their one-on-one meeting prior to the joint press conference.
“We talked about Israel, we talked about meddling — I said no more meddling,” Trump asserted. “Obama was told before the election in September by the FBI about Russia and possible Russian meddling. You know what he did? Nothing.”