President Trump, seeking to stanch a national furor, said on Tuesday that he misspoke in Helsinki, Finland, and meant to say that he indeed does see Russian Federation as the culprit that interfered in the 2016 presidential election, just as US intelligence agencies have found.

After recapping President Donald Trump's "clarification ceremony" on Tuesday, Jimmy Kimmel said there was only one logical explanation for the president's recent behavior: He's "a liar, and not even a good one".

Several notable Republicans went on to rebuke Trump's meeting and described it as "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory".

Seth Meyers called the meeting "surreal" on NBC's "Late Night", comparing Trump meeting Putin to "a flustered 12-year-old who just met Mickey at Disneyland".

"So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki", Trump tweeted early Wednesday morning.

Trump's meeting with Putin in Helsinki was his first time sharing the worldwide stage with a man he has described as an important US competitor - but whom he has also praised a strong, effective leader.

And while Trump's tried-and-true base will stick by him, most voters won't easily forget watching the president get his hat handed to him by none other than Vladimir Putin, the former KGB agent and now head of the Evil Empire.

'The sentence should have been: "'I don't see any see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia, '" Trump added, acknowledging that it was a double negative.

Trump also accused past American leaders, rather than Russia's destabilizing actions in the US and around the world, for the souring of relations between two countries.

Japan, EU sign EPA trade pact
Tusk also ensured the EU's and Japan's joint support of the Iran Nuclear Deal, which Trump pulled out from earlier this year . Juncker also highlighted the importance of creating a system based on common values and rules for free and fair trade.

Trump's conflating accusations that his campaign colluded with Russian Federation with the intelligence community's assessment that Moscow interfered in the election, said Scaramucci, who served less than two weeks as the White House's communications director before being forced to resign.

Aides said the episode reflected how the persistent questions about Trump's ties to Russian Federation have all but paralyzed the president.

"They asked about election collusion", the Maryland Republican said.

"I came back and I said: 'What is going on?" "If the president can't say directly to President Putin that he is wrong and we are right and our intelligence agencies are right, it's ineffective, and worse, another sign of weakness".

But he undercut his scripted assertion that he accepted Russian Federation was responsible for election interference with an ad-lib: "Could be other people also".

Rep. Andy Harris argued the "world is a safer place today" because the leaders of the world's two largest nuclear powers had met face-to-face, adding he preferred Trump's handling of Russian Federation over Obama's, whose foreign policy he described as an "abject failure".

Pompeo is to publicly testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 25.

He had made the original comments standing alongside Vladimir Putin on a stage in Helsinki. "It shows the weakness of President Trump that he is afraid to confront Mr Putin directly". "[Charles E.] Schumer mentioned where I think we could find common ground to turn the screws". Yeah, I did heard these rumors that these allegedly collected compromising material on Mr. Trump when he was visiting Moscow. "The United States must be focused on holding Russian Federation accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy".

Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioSenate weighs new Russia response amid Trump backlash Senate adds members to pro-NATO group McConnell reassures Europe on Russia MORE (R-Fla) said he was "just glad he clarified" what he meant.