President Obama suggested there could be a relationship between Donald Trump and the Russians in an interview excerpt Tuesday, citing the Democratic National Committee email hack.
NBC's Savannah Guthrie asked Obama a two-pronged question: the first was if the Russians were behind the hack, and the second was if they were trying in interfere in an American presidential election.
He said that the FBI still has an open investigation into this matter, but experts point to the Russians.
He then implied that there was a relationship between Russia and Trump. Even though the comment was vague, the suggestion was still present.
"Well, I think the FBI is still investigating what happened," he said. "I know that experts have attributed this to the Russians. What we do know is that the Russians hack our systems, not just government systems, but private systems. But, you know, what the motives were in terms of leaks, all that, I can't say directly. What I do know is that Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin."
Guthrie pointed out this implication, which has also been charged by members of the Hillary Clinton campaign.
"Sounds like you're suggesting that Putin might be motivated to prefer Trump in the White House?" she asked.
Obama said he was basing his comments solely on what Trump has said in the past about Putin.
"I am basing this on what Mr. Trump himself has said, and I think that Trump's gotten pretty favorable coverage back in Russia," he said.
Guthrie asked again if it was possible that the Russians were trying to influence the presidential election.
"Anything is possible," Obama said.