Fox News host Jeanine Pirro asked President Trump on Saturday if he has ever worked for Russia, prompting the commander in chief to say it was “the most insulting” question he’s ever been asked.
During the late Saturday phone interview, Trump was asked to respond to a bombshell New York Times report that said the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into him the day after he fired FBI Director James Comey in the spring of 2017.
“I’m going to ask you, are you now or have you ever worked for Russia, Mr. President?” Pirro asked.
Trump replied, “I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked. I think it’s the most insulting article I’ve ever had written. And if you read the article, you’d see that they found absolutely nothing.”
“I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked…the most insulting article I’ve ever had written & if you read the article, you’d see that they found absolutely nothing.”- @realDonaldTrump on NYT FBI report pic.twitter.com/cIB4Sk9ZA1
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) January 13, 2019
Trump went on to defend the firing of “liar” Comey and lobbed a number of insults at the “failing” New York Times.
The Times report, published Friday, said Trump was secretly investigated by the FBI on the suspicion that he may have been working for Russia knowingly or unwittingly. The counterintelligence inquiry was wrapped into the FBI’s broader Russia investigation which special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to lead after Comey’s ouster.
In a follow-up, the Washington Post reported the president took steps to try to protect his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including pressuring a translator to withhold information on discussions between the two leaders from administration officials.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called the Times report “absurd” and said Comey was fired “because he’s a disgraced partisan hack, and his Deputy Andrew McCabe, who was in charge at the time, is a known liar fired by the FBI.”
Pirro, an outspoken supporter of the president, was receptive when Trump called the report a “shame” and a “waste of time.”
“It is a shame. It is a waste of time,” she echoed. “It’s a waste of energy, and, you know, some people have to say to themselves, how can you deal with all of this?”
Pressed on how he’s able to cope with the bad press, Trump suggested it was his “good genes.”
