The following article by Shannon Vavra was posted on the Axios website July 18, 2018:
President Trump, in an interview with CBS News’ Jeff Glor, said that he told Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday that he was “very strong” on the fact that “we can’t have meddling” in our elections, despite failing to confront him on the issue during their joint press conference.
I let him know we can’t have this, we’re not going to have it, and that’s the way it’s going to be.— President Trump
Why it matters: There’s no way to verify Trump’s account of what he said, since he met with Putin in private. But here’s what Trump said in public about Russian election interference: “I have great confidence in my intelligence people but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”