Trump again contradicts intelligence officials on Putin interference

DONALD TRUMP waded further into a row over Russian meddling after he appeared to deny that the Kremlin is still targeting America yesterday, again contradicting his own US intelligence officials.

The US president appeared to respond “no” when asked by a reporter: “Is Russia still targeting the US, Mr President?”

His press secretary Sarah Sanders later said the president had been responding “no” to answering questions, but the president’s response triggered immediate criticism.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Mr Trump should “stop taking the word of a KGB agent over that of your intelligence officials”.

US intelligence chiefs have repeatedly predicted that the Kremlin will attempt to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections in November.

Dan Coats, the US director of national intelligence, said on Friday: “The warning lights are blinking red again.”

Mr Trump has meandered on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election, which he won.

The US president sided with the Kremlin in a press conference with Vladimir Putin on Monday. But on Tuesday he claimed that when he had said he did not see why it “would” be Russia, he had meant “wouldn’t”.

Yesterday, Mr Trump lashed out at coverage of his summit with Mr Putin, which he heralded as a new era of cooperation but has been overshadowed by the furore over election meddling.

The US president tweeted: “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.”

He added: “Some people hate the fact that I got along well with President Putin of Russia. They would rather go to war than see this. It’s called Trump Derangement Syndrome!”