Trump: Russia Relationship ‘NEVER Been Worse’ Thanks To ‘Stupidity,’ Mueller Probe

US President Donald Trump speaks during the meeting with the Finnish President at the Mantyniemi Presidential Residence in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. - US President Donald Trump touched down in Helsinki on July 16, ... US President Donald Trump speaks during the meeting with the Finnish President at the Mantyniemi Presidential Residence in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. - US President Donald Trump touched down in Helsinki on July 16, 2018 on the eve of a much-anticipated summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Just hours before President Donald Trump was set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he carped on Twitter that the U.S. relationship with the Kremlin has “NEVER been worse” thanks to his predecessors’ “stupidity” and the Russia probe. 

Trump also told reporters that he was looking forward to the summit with Putin, where the two world leaders will have a one-on-one meeting without aides present, and said “we’ll do just fine.”

Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced last week that the Department of Justice had indicted a dozen Russian intelligence officials for election meddling. While Democrats seized on news of the indictments to urge Trump to not meet with Putin, or at least not do it alone, the White House was unfazed by the development and has pressed on with the meeting. Trump told reporters last week that he would ask Putin about election meddling, but said there was nothing he could do besides ask Putin not to do it again.   

On Twitter Monday, Trump again claimed that former President Barack Obama ignored reports from his intelligence community on Russian interference because he “thought that Crooked Hillary was going to win the election.”

After the 2016 election, Obama issued sanctions against Russia and expelled diplomats from the U.S. to retaliate against the country for election meddling. According to several reports and public comments from his closest aides, Obama attempted to release a bipartisan statement on Russian election meddling before the election, in September 2016, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell interfered.

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