President
Donald Trump on Saturday hit back at former President
Jimmy Carter, after Carter suggested Trump was an illegitimate president because of
Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Carter on Friday told a panel event hosted by The Carter Center that Trump “lost the election and was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.”
Trump responded at a press conference at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
“Jimmy Carter, look, he’s a nice man, he was a terrible president,” said Trump.
“He’s a Democrat and it’s a typical talking point,” Trump added. “He’s loyal to the Democrats and I guess you should be, but as everybody now understands, I won not because of Russia, not because of anybody but myself.”
“I went out, I campaigned better, smarter, harder than Hillary Clinton,” added Trump, who said he was “surprised” that Carter would make such a statement.
Former special counsel Robert Mueller found in his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible Trump campaign collusion that the Kremlin had systematically attempted to boost Trump’s candidacy.