Trump on Russia Collusion Hoax: ‘This Was an Attempted Coup; It Was a Failed Coup’

Trump: “What they’ve done is so bad for this country, and it really started right at the 2016 election. And there’s a difference when you know it and when you know it and it’s all written down for you.”

DEVINE: “Proven.”

Trump: “I mean, it’s all there. It’s right there. The orders, the memos, the whole thing is right there.”

DEVINE: “Were you surprised when you saw it all later?”

Trump: “I would have thought they maybe would have thrown it out. I don’t know. You know, they handed it — they say, put this in highly classified. It was in highly classified, you know, areas that normally you wouldn’t get to. But I guess when you put it in there, it’s a file, right? And they got to it and it’s unbelievable. When you read it, it’s unbelievable. A real hoax. You know, it’s a real hoax. If they would devote their time to winning elections, or if they devote their time to, like, great greatness, making America great again, it would be because there’s a certain genius to it. But it’s also sick —“

DEVINE: “Yes.”

Trump: “— and they’re sick. And you look at Hillary Clinton, you look at all of the terrible things with the Steele Dossier, and you know it better — nobody’s covered it better than you, to be honest with you. I mean, you’re sitting here so innocently talking to me, like, this is wonderful. You know the story better than I do. But it’s, it’s incredible. It’s all there now. It’s in writing. And Tulsi’s done a great job. You know, there were some people that really wanted Tulsi. They thought she was going to do a fantastic job. And when you look, a lot of people would not have found it. They wouldn’t have found it to be politically correct to find it.”

DEVINE: “Yes.”

Trump: “OK, it would be easier not to.”

DEVINE: “And she’s tough.”

Trump: “And she’s tough and she’s smart and she, she did, she went deep into the files and she found it. And it — what it says is just terrible. And look, this was an attempted coup. It was a failed coup. I mean, I get to be — here we are, talking as president of the United States. So you almost had it happen.”