Trump blames Russia for election meddling

President Donald Trump on Thursday pointed a finger of blame at Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and warned North Korea he is considering “severe” actions in response to its nuclear arms and long-range missile programs.

In a wide-ranging joint news conference with his Polish counterpart in Warsaw, Trump also lambasted CNN and other American media outlets he again dubbed “fake news” and announced — though in a slightly veiled manner — the United States will seek to undermine Moscow’s leverage in Europe by challenging its natural gas “monopoly” there.

“I think it was Russia ... and I think it could have been other countries,” Trump said when asked if he believes Moscow meddled in the U.S. election. He later added unnamed “other people” to that list.

“A lot of people interfere” in elections across the globe, he said, adding that “nobody really knows for sure” what happened.

Trump attempted multiple times during his slightly rambling answer to deflect attention from the allegations against Russia and onto, as he put it, why then-President Obama “did nothing about it” after intelligence officials notified him last August.

The U.S. president charged Obama with opting against retaliating against Moscow because he thought Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, his first secretary of State, would win the election.

Had Obama believed Trump was on track to take the White House, Trump said, the 44th president would have done “plenty” to check Russia’s alleged interference.

“I don’t think he choked,” Trump said of Obama, using language a former Obama administration used in a conversation with the Washington Post about the response to Russia’s alleged actions.