‘I inherited a mess,’ rails defensive Trump
Combative president again attacks media, denies knowledge of Russian links, defends fired Flynn
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump insisted that he had “inherited a mess” as he launched the most vigorous defence of his presidency to date during a wide-ranging 75-minute impromptu press conference Thursday.
Trump claimed his administration was operating like a “fine-tuned machine” and railed against claims to the contrary during a session initially intended as an introduction of his new cabinet nominee.
The president briefly noted that Alexander Acosta would be the next secretary of labour before launching into an impassioned defence of himself and his policies.
“I inherited a mess, at home and abroad, a mess,” he said. “No matter where you look, a disaster ... we’ll take care of it. I just wanted to let you know I inherited a mess.”
Trump said his rivals and the media continued to claim his administration was in “chaos”, but the reality was “the exact opposite”, and that no previous president had accomplished so much so quickly.
He jolted from anger, to humour to defiance, claiming that while he knew the headlines would say he had “ranted and raved”, he was enjoying himself.
A White House official told CNN the president had simply strolled into the Oval Office and said: “Let’s do a press conference today.”
Trump claimed reports that his senior campaign aides had been in contact with Russian intelligence officials were a “ruse” designed to undermine his presidency.
But he twice declined to say whether they were accurate, until finally clarifying that “nobody that I know of” had held conversations with Russian agents.
“The leaks are absolutely real,” Trump said. “The news is fake.”
The leaks could be a sign that a historic clash may be erupting between the intelligence apparatus of the United States and the country’s democratically elected president.
The president announced Thursday that he had instructed the Justice Department to examine leaks to the media that have damaged his administration — including several based on private communications with foreign governments.
Intercepted phone calls with Russia’s ambassador, for instance, led to the firing of Trump’s national security adviser this week. The president lamented the firing, insisting Michael Flynn had done nothing wrong in reassuring Russia about economic sanctions.
The president said that the reason he axed the senior military man was that Flynn later mischaracterized those interactions to Vice-President Mike Pence. Now he wants to go after the leakers.
The president seemed to delight in the verbal jousting with the press, telling them: “I love this. I’m having a good time. I don’t mind bad stories. I can handle a bad story better than anybody as long as it’s true,” he said. “But I’m not OK when it is fake.”