President Donald Trump may have found himself on the receiving end of an outright lie from Vladimir Putin.
Despite years of describing the Russian dictator as “sincere” and “savvy‚” Trump was given some uncomfortable intel on New Year’s Eve.
Two days after relaying the news that Ukraine had allegedly launched an attack on Putin’s home, CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly informed the president on Wednesday that the agency does not believe the story is true, according to NewsNation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Kyiv had launched an attack on Sunday night using 91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles aimed at Putin’s state residence located in the Novgorod region.
Trump spoke with Putin by phone on Sunday, hours before a meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and said the Russian leader had personally informed him of the alleged attack, saying it had made him “very angry.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the CIA for comment.
The alleged intel may explain the timing of a social media post made by Trump. On Wednesday afternoon, the president shared a New York Post editorial on his Truth Social account that was critical of Putin as part of a tirade of angry New Year’s Eve posts.
“Across the world, Russia is opposing Trump’s agenda,” the piece Trump shared read. “The answer should not be more concessions, but a bigger stick. Kyiv has done its part. The onus should be on Putin to step up or face more stringent sanctions and more deadly weapons in Ukraine.”
On Monday, a confused Trump, 79, claimed he did not know about the alleged strike on Putin’s home, then corrected himself by saying the Russian president had personally informed him only hours earlier.
A reporter noted that Russia was claiming Ukraine tried to hit the Russian president’s residence and asked if Trump had any information on it.
“No, I don’t know about it actually,” Trump said, shaking his head. “I just heard about it, actually, but I don’t know about it.”
“That would be too bad,” the president added, remaining vague. “That would not be good.”
After a second call with the dictator, Trump told reporters he was “very angry” when Putin told him about the alleged attack. Trump said it was one thing to “be offensive” but another “to attack his house.”
When questioned whether U.S. intelligence services had confirmed that the attack actually happened, Trump said it was “possible” that the attack did not occur as Putin said.
Zelensky, meanwhile, characterized the allegations as “typical Russian lies” and accused Moscow of trying to derail peace talks and continue the attacks on Ukraine.
