Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” President Donald Trump once again dismissed claims that Russia was somehow responsible for his 2016 presidential election victory.
Trump told host Sean Hannity it was an excuse contrived by Democrats on the losing end of the election and were unwilling to acknowledge his opponent Hillary Clinton was “a bad candidate.”
“We can’t let anybody play around with our voters and our voter system,” Trump said. “But I have to tell you this — it is so important. Russia was an excuse used by the Democrats when they lost the election. They lost the election. And they sat in a room, and they said ‘Wow, we look bad,’ the morning after. In fact, it’s been written about in various books or e-books. But they said why did you lose the election? And they said ‘Oh, it was Russia.'”
“It wasn’t Russia,” he continued. “It was a bad candidate who didn’t go to Wisconsin or Michigan like they should have. It was a candidate that spent tremendously more money than I did, as you know — more than double. That did not do well in Pennsylvania, this great state. Didn’t do well in Florida. Didn’t do well in North Carolina or South Carolina. I mean, lost Wisconsin for the first time in decades, lost Michigan. Now, with all of that being said, bad candidate, they said Russia. And then they say oh, it was Trump that colluded with Russia. I’m saying ‘I did?'”
Trump explained how he came to appreciate the Electoral College and added that he thought to win the popular vote would have been easier for him.
“This was an excuse by the Democrats and people got carried away,” he added. “This was a terrible — and it’s very bad for our country — during this campaign, forget it. Forget it. This was an excuse that was used by the Democrats. It was an excuse for losing an election that frankly they should have won because winning the Electoral College is so easy for Democrats. They start off with three major states and to win the Electoral College for a Democrat — it’s almost like a said you cannot get to 270. We got to 306, OK? But I thought it was very sad when I saw this … they use these excuses. The Electoral College, I never appreciated. I’d rather have a popular vote. For me, it’s easier. The popular vote is easier. The one thing about the Electoral College, it takes you around to states he would not go too otherwise. So, it’s been a great thing.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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