Trump said he was surprised by the former president saying Russian interference in the 2016 election was responsible for putting him in the White House, dismissing the former Democratic president.
“Look,” Trump said, “he was a nice man. He was a terrible president. He’s a Democrat. And it’s a typical talking point. He’s loyal to the Democrats. And I guess you should be.”
“As everybody now understands, I won not because of Russia, not because of anybody but myself,” he added, referring to the Mueller report released back in April which had found no evidence of collusion between Russia and Trump campaign.
Trump noted that he won the election because he worked harder than Clinton, adding that he’d "felt badly" for Carter because he’d “been trashed within his own party.”
“He’s been badly trashed,” Trump continued. “He’s like the forgotten president. And I understand why they say that. He was not a good president.”
Trump’s comment came after Carter said there was “no doubt that the Russians did interfere” in 2016 during a discussion on human rights at a resort in Leesburg, Virginia.
Redactions in the publicly released version of Mueller’s report give Trump's opponents hope that the document may contain something that they can use to support their allegations of a wrongful victory in the presidential race. Both Russia and the White House have repeatedly denied all allegations of collusion.
