Trump: I Was Being Sarcastic When I Asked Russia to Hack Hillary

In an interview on Fox & Friends, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said that comments he made on Wednesday calling for Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails were meant to be a joke. “Of course I’m being sarcastic,” Trump replied. “But you have 33,000 emails deleted, and the real problem is what was said on those emails from the Democratic National Committee. You take look at what was said on those emails, it’s disgraceful.” Host Brian Kilmeade also asked Trump to account for comments he’s made praising Russian President Vladimir Putin. “When you look at Vladimir Putin, you say he’s a great leader for his country,” Kilmeade said. But Trump cut him off, declaring: “No, I didn’t say that. I said he’s a better leader than Obama.” He added, “I said he’s a better leader than Obama. Because Obama is not a leader. So he’s certainly doing a better job than Obama is. And that’s all.”