Donald Trump gave a 10-minute interview to a Kremlin-backed television network broadcast in Russia on Thursday night condemning more than a decade of U.S. foreign policy, calling American involvement in the Middle East "a catastrophe."
The Republican presidential nominee also downplayed reports that the Russian government is attempting to influence the upcoming U.S. elections through a series of cyber attacks against multiple Democratic computer networks.
The interview was broadcast Thursday evening on RT America, a branch of the Kremlin-funded media conglomerate formerly known as "Russia Today." The interview came a day after Trump again praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a strong leader.
Trump spoke with journalist Larry King, who now hosts the show "Politicking" on RT America, about the presidential election, the U.S. intervention in Iraq, and the recent hacks into Democratic Party computer systems linked to Russian hackers.
Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway denied on Friday morning that the GOP nominee knew his interview would be broadcast on Russian television. She said Trump did it as a "favor" to his longtime "friend," King.
Much of the interview was spent criticizing America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, arguing the country is "in far worse shape than if we had never gone over there."
"It’s been a catastrophe. The Middle East for this country has been a catastrophe," he said.
Trump also said it was "pretty unlikely" that Russian government hackers were behind the cyber attacks against Democratic computer networks, including the Democratic National Committee. He suggested the Democratic Party was responsible for pinning the blame on the Russians.
The business mogul also derided the U.S. press corps, calling the media "unbelievably dishonest."
Trump faced heavy criticism moments after the interview began airing. Veteran Republican strategist John Weaver called Trump’s condemnation of the media on the Kremlin-funded RT network "outrageous."
"I’m just stunned at the insanity of the campaign staff to even consider, allow [an RT] interview, given the Russian ties already," Weaver wrote on Twitter.
The Trump campaign immediately went into damage control.
"Mr. Trump recorded a short interview with Larry King for his podcast as a favor to Mr. King. What Larry King does with the interview content is up to him; we have nothing to do with it," Hope Hicks, Trump’s spokeswoman, said in an email to the Wall Street Journal.