Trump says Intel chiefs told him media mischaracterized comments

A day after he slammed the US intelligence community over their assessment of global threats to America, US President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course and said he and US spy officials “are all on the same page.”

The president on Wednesday had described US intelligence chiefs as “extremely passive and naive” on Iran and dismissed their assessments of the threat posed by North Korea.

“Just concluded a great meeting with my Intel team in the Oval Office who told me that what they said on Tuesday at the Senate Hearing was mischaracterized by the media – and we are very much in agreement on Iran, ISIS, North Korea, etc.,” Trump tweeted.

“I would suggest you read the COMPLETE testimony from Tuesday,” he added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats had slammed the president for his comments disparaging Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, CIA Director Gina Haspel and other top security officials.

“One dismaying factor of it all is that the president just doesn’t seem to have the attention span or the desire to hear what the intelligence community has been telling him,” Pelosi said Thursday, calling Trump’s comments attacking the intelligence leaders “cause for concern.”

“I disagree with certain things that they said,” Trump said earlier Thursday at an executive order signing.

“I think I’m right,” he added. “Time will prove me right, probably.”

Trump rejected their findings in a string of tweets on Wednesday, writing that the intelligence community was “passive and naive” and they should “go back to school!”

Thursday’s back-and-forth underscores what has been a tense relationship between the president and the leaders of the intelligence community. He has previously cast doubt on the conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.