In recent weeks, Donald Trump has questioned whether Russia really interfered in the 2016 presidential election. But two years ago, he took a stronger stance against Russian hacking.
In an interview with Fox News in 2014, Trump called Russia’s hacking “a problem.” He had been asked about comments FBI Director James Comey made on “60 Minutes” about hacking by China.
“I’ve been talking about China for a long time,” Trump said in a clip uncovered by CNN’s KFile. “You know, they put on the front like we’re your friend and everything and in the meantime, the cash comes out of your back pocket. It’s disgraceful what’s going on with China generally. No, I think he’s 100 percent right, it’s a big problem, and we have that problem also with Russia. You saw that over the weekend. Russia’s doing the same thing.”
Trump has repeatedly expressed skepticism about Russia’s role in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee computer systems despite the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies.
He called the CIA’s assessment that Russia may have sought to undermine Clinton’s candidacy “ridiculous,” saying it was “just another excuse.”
“I don’t believe it,” he told Fox News Sunday earlier this month.
Last week he questioned in a tweet why the White House waited “so long to act” if it knew Russia was behind the hacks.
“Why did they complain after Hillary lost?” Trump asked.
