Donald Trump Brands Barack Obama As A ‘Total Patsy’ For Russia In ‘CNBC’ Interview

Donald Trump branded former U.S. President Barack Obama a “total patsy” for Russia in an interview with CNBC‘s Joe Kernan.

Trump cited the “stupid statement” Obama made when he “thought the mics were turned off” but didn’t elaborate further. The president boasted that he is “far tougher on Russian than any president in many, many years,” citing the sanctions he’s put on the country and the diplomats he’s thrown out.

The president says he’ll be “the worst enemy” Putin’s ever had if the budding political ties don’t work out, but that getting along with Russia is “a positive, not a negative.”

The interview follows the news that Trump has invited Putin to Washington this fall, CNN reports.

“President Trump asked (national security adviser John Bolton) to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway,” press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted Thursday.

The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media. I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed, including stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear……..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2018

Word of a potential second summit between the U.S. and Russia came after the Senate voted 98 to zero against allowing Russia to question former American official Michael McFaul amongst others. The Inquisitr previously reported McFaul’s fears that the U.S. would turn him over to Russia after years of personal harassment at the hands of Putin.

Democrats and Republicans, including Senator Marco Rubio, came out against the idea.

“Under no circumstances should Putin officials ever be allowed to come into the U.S. & “question” Americans on their list.” Rubio tweeted Thursday.

McFaul served as an ambassador at the U.S. embassy in Russia and cited Putin’s paranoia that the United States is attempting to usurp the Russian government.

“98-0. Bipartisanship is not dead yet in the US Senate. Thank you for all your support.” McFaul tweeted Thursday.

The president then accused the media of trying to instigate a conflict between the U.S. and Russia since the majority of the coverage has centered on various top republicans blasting the summit. He has frequently referred to news outlets as the “enemy of the people.”

“The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media,” Trump tweeted Thursday. “I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed, including stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear proliferation, cyber attacks, trade, Ukraine, Middle East peace, North Korea and more.”

Thus far, neither the president or the White House have sanctioned any official understandings between the two countries.