President Trump sought to blame former President Barack Obama over Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, sending a series of tweets on Tuesday morning that said his predecessor didn’t do enough to stop Moscow.
Trump said that before the election, Obama thought Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would win the presidential election and didn’t want to “rock the boat.” After Clinton lost, the president said “the whole game changed.”
He also said that he has been tougher on Russia than Obama.
Trump’s tweets come days after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian individuals and three groups on charges related to interference with the election. The Mueller indictment offered compelling details of how the Russian operation allegedly sought to hurt Clinton and help Trump in the presidential election.
The indictment provided no evidence that the Russian enterprise colluded with the Trump campaign or that Americans contacted by the Russians realized the alleged nature of the plot.
The president has come under criticism for not taking the allegations against Russia more seriously. Trump has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has told him that Moscow did not interfere with the U.S. election.
Trump’s first tweet on the issue Tuesday highlighted a quotation from Obama ahead of the election. He then slammed the former president’s motives.
Trump hit Obama on Russia one more time later on Tuesday, tweeting, “I have been much tougher on Russia than Obama, just look at the facts. Total Fake News!”
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Trump’s tweets were his latest attack on Obama for what he says was a failure to adequately address concerns about Russian meddling, despite efforts by the U.S. intelligence community to investigate the plot in the months prior to the election.
Trump raised the point in a tweet on Monday, questioning why Obama didn’t do more to address the Russian efforts.
“Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn’t he do something about Russian meddling?” Trump tweeted.
Trump, who frequently tweets while watching cable news, also gave a shoutout to “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday, thanking them for a “great timeline” on the Obama administration’s failures on Russia.