Putin: Only Russia Knew Trump Would Win (Even Though We Didn’t Hack The Election)

‘Certainly Only We Knew That He Was Going To Win. No One Else Did’

Russian President Vlaidimr Putin again praised President-elect Donald Trump on Friday, saying that only Russia knew he would win the election.

Speaking at his annual press conference in Moscow, Putin said Trump “understood the mood of the people and kept going until the end, when nobody believed in him — except for you and me,” according to Reuters. 

“Certainly only we knew that he was going to win. No-one else did,” Putin added. 

However, Putin denied the findings of a CIA report that concluded Russia intervened in the election with the goal of helping Trump win.  

Instead, Putin parroted Trump’s recent talking points by accusing Democrats of using the election-related hacking as an excuse for Hillary Clinton’s defeat.  

“The current administration and the leadership of the Democratic Party are trying to blame all their failures on external factors,” Putin said. “All of this (the accusations) speaks of the current administration’s systemic problems.” 

Putin also said during the press conference that he thought there was “nothing unusual” about Trump’s tweet on Thursday calling for the U.S. to bolster its nuclear arsenal.