President Trump suggested that the news media is pushing for a confrontation with Russia in a Thursday tweet, saying reporters "hate the fact that I’ll probably have a good relationship with Putin."
"The Fake News Media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with Russia, even a confrontation that could lead to war. They are pushing so recklessly hard and hate the fact that I’ll probably have a good relationship with Putin. We are doing MUCH better than any other country!"
The backdrop: It's Trump's latest in a multi-day series of tweets defending his Helsinki performance — and it comes on the heels of a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll which shows that Americans are sharply divided over Trump's press conference with Putin, with 7% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans saying they approved of his comments.