Trump backpedals on Russia comment

President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon corrected a comment he made Monday seeming to undermine U.S. intelligence agencies. The rebuttal came after mounting bipartisan criticism following a joint news conference with Russian President Vladmir Putin after their two-hour private meeting in Helsinki. After saying Putin strongly denied allegations of interfering in U.S. elections, Trump on Monday said, “He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.” On Tuesday, Trump said he meant to say “wouldn’t be,” adding, “Let me be totally clear in saying that, and I’ve said this many times, I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place.” Trump also added, “It could be other people also. A lot of people out there. There was no collusion at all.” He made the clarifying comments during a meeting with members of Congress and the press at the White House.