Rep. Jim Himes (D., Conn.) cited Russia's version of events from when President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit, instead of the American version, during an interview Friday evening.
After Himes slammed Trump and said he did not push back hard enough against Putin for Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, CNN host John Berman called out the congressman for saying that he would be complaining if Trump had not met with Putin at all.
"Look, if he didn't bring it up at all, you would be all over him for not bringing it up," Berman said. "Does he get any credit for discussing what you say is obviously a very important thing to discuss?"
"Well, I guess so," Himes answered before saying that "any conversations with the Russians, I think, are good conversations."
Himes was not in attendance at the meeting between the two presidents, with the only accounts of the meeting coming from both the American and Russian delegations.
When Berman asked about the different views, which are common after meetings between American and Russian leaders, Himes attacked Trump for saying that he had accepted Putin's denial of Russian meddling, although Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was at the meeting, said it was the first thing Trump mentioned and did not say that Trump had accepted Putin's statement. Berman asked Himes if he trusted the Russian version of the meeting more than the American version.
"But just to be clear, you're not suggesting you believe the Russians more than the White House, are you?" Berman asked.
"I am not suggesting that and since there are conflicting versions, it's a little hard to know," Himes said.
Berman found Himes' answer to be unclear and asked him again.
"But just to be clear, again, the Russians say that President Trump accepted President Putin's denial," Berman said. "A White House source tells Jim Acosta that's not the case. Given those two stories, who are you more inclined to believe?"
"Well, all I can do is reflect on how I've heard the president talk about the Russian attack on our election over the course of the last four or five months," Himes said.