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Trump says he wants 'no help from any country' in re-election bid

The president declined to say specifically whether he believes Russia is interfering in the election and issued no warning for Vladimir Putin not to.

NEW DELHI — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he does not want help from foreign governments in his 2020 re-election bid, as he accused Democrats of leaking classified information about Russian interference to tarnish his campaign.

“I want no help from any country, and I haven’t been given help from any country,” Trump said during a news conference on the last of his two-day trip to India.

The president, who fielded questions on a wide range of topics for roughly 45 minutes, also weighed in on the conviction of Harvey Weinstein, claiming that prominent Democrats like former first lady Michelle Obama and ex-presidential contender Hillary Clinton "loved" the disgraced movie mogul.

Image: President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. Alex Brandon / AP

Trump declined to say specifically whether he believes Russia is interfering in the 2020 election and issued no warning for Russian President Vladimir Putin not to. Instead, without any evidence, he accused House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., of leaking information from a recent classified briefing, during which U.S. intelligence officials told Republican and Democratic lawmakers that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election to try to help Trump.

“Schiff leaked it in my opinion. He shouldn’t be leaking things like that. That’s a terrible thing to do,” Trump said.

On Weinstein, Trump said the mogul’s conviction Monday was a victory for women.

“From the standpoint of women I think it was a great thing — it was a great victory,” Trump said, making no mention of the more than a dozen women who have accused him of sexual assault.

"I was just not a fan of his," the president said of Weinstein. "The people that liked him were the Democrats. Michelle Obama loved him ... Hillary Clinton loved him."

The president also said he planned to get rid of more administration officials he believes don’t support his agenda.

“I don’t think it’s very many people,” he said. “We want to have people who are good for the country, are loyal to the country.”

On U.S. intelligence officials warning Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the front-runner in the Democratic primary race, that Russia aims to interfere in the election to try to help him, Trump said he had no first-hand knowledge of that.

“They never told me anything about that,” he said. “It was sort of a strange thing that they went to Bernie.”

Addressing the spread of coronavirus, Trump said the majority of the Americans stricken with it are getting better.

“Most of the people are outside of danger right now,” he said.

China’s health officials said Tuesday the number of deaths from coronavirus in mainland China had reached 2,663. The number of dead stood at 2,592 a day earlier.