Ever since Donald Trump pulled off the upset and defeated Hillary Clinton to become the new president, speculation has grown over what involvement Russia had in the results. After it was revealed that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Trump has dismissed the reports, and is now accusing top officials of spreading misinformation.
Trump on "fake news"
It was last month when the CIA revealed the results of the secret investigation that concluded that Russia hacked the DNC, and did so with the ultimate goal of helping Donald Trump get elected.
On top of the CIA report, CNN broke an exclusive story last week that alleged Russia had planned to blackmail Trump, while using "compromising" information that they obtained. As expected, Trump and his transition team quickly denied the reports and allegations, labeling them "fake news." After CIA Director John Brennan accused Trump of being ignorant when it comes to Russia, the president-elect fired back on Twitter on January 15.
.@FoxNews "Outgoing CIA Chief, John Brennan, blasts Pres-Elect Trump on Russia threat. Does not fully understand." Oh really, couldn't do...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017
much worse - just look at Syria (red line), Crimea, Ukraine and the build-up of Russian nukes. Not good! Was this the leaker of Fake News?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017
"@FoxNews 'Outgoing CIA Chief, John Brennan, blasts Pres-Elect Trump on Russia threat.
Does not fully understand,' Donald Trump wrote on Twitter, citing a headline of a Fox News article. In a follow-up tweet, the former host of "The Apprentice" went on to accuse Brennan of planting "fake news" to undermine his presidency.
CIA's Brennan warns Trump, says he doesn't 'fully understand' Russia threathttps://t.co/KREDNJZaiY
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 15, 2017
"Oh really, couldn't do much worse, just look at Syria (red line), Crimea, Ukraine and the build-up of Russian nukes," Donald Trump added on Twitter, while stating, "Not good!" Going further, Trump went on to ask of John Brennan, "Was this the leaker of Fake News?" Earlier this week during his first press conference since being elected, Trump refused to allow Jim Acosta of CNN to ask a question, while also labeling the network "fake news."
Moving forward
Despite the growing backlash against him and increasing speculation involving Russia, Donald Trump is now only five days away from being sworn in as the President of the United States. With Trump headed to the White House, only time will tell how the country moves forward with their relationship with the Kremlin.