President Trump told reporters on Saturday that former president Jimmy Carter “was a nice man,” but a “terrible president.” The president made the remark in response to Carter's recent comment that Trump is an illegitimate president due to Russian interference in the 2016 election. “There’s no doubt that the Russians did interfere in the elections and I think the interference, although not yet quantified, if fully investigated would show that Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016,” the former president said at an event in Leesburg, Virginia, on Friday. “He lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf,” Carter said. When asked if he thinks Trump is an illegitimate president, he responded: “Based on what I just said, which I can’t retract.”
Trump told reporters gathered for the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, that Carter was simply playing party politics. “He’s a Democrat. And it’s a typical talking point. He’s loyal to the Democrats. And I guess you should be … as everybody now understands, I won not because of Russia, not because of anybody but myself,” Trump said, according to The Associated Press. “He’s been badly trashed,” the president added, according to the AP. “He’s like the forgotten president. And I understand why they say that. He was not a good president.”