Cecilia Vega, a White House reporter for ABC News, remains convinced that President Trump was answering her questions when he appeared to say “no” when asked if the U.S. was still being targeted by Russia.
“Getting a lot of questions about my exchange with [Trump] today,” Vega tweeted about her exchange with Trump during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday afternoon. “Yes, he was looking directly at me when he spoke. Yes, I believe he heard me clearly. He answered two of my questions.”
She also shared a transcript of the interaction.
Getting a lot of questions about my exchange with @realDonaldTrump today.
Yes, he was looking directly at me when he spoke.
Yes, I believe he heard me clearly. He answered two of my questions.
Here’s the full exchange: pic.twitter.com/F3QmDSFzpT— Cecilia Vega (@CeciliaVega) July 18, 2018
The interaction, caught on video, prompted Vega and a slew of news outlets to report that Trump had said “no” when asked if he believes Russia is still targeting the U.S.
However, the White House denied this was true, claiming Trump’s “no” response was him declining to answer her question.
“The president said thank you very much and was saying no to answering questions,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters. “We believe that their threats still exist, which is why we are taking steps to prevent it. Again, you wouldn’t go through that lengthy process if you weren’t.”
“I’m interpreting what the president said, I’m not reversing it,” she added.
The media flap comes one day after Trump admitted that he misspoke when he said he didn’t “see any reason why” Russia would have meddled in the 2016 election and said he believes the U.S. intelligence community assessment that found Russian agents did interfere in the electoral process.
