Vladimir Putin would be better off with Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump said in an interview with The Christian Broadcasting Network.
Trump told CBN, in an interview published Wednesday, that his focus on defense spending and energy is "what Putin doesn't like about me." The president also asserted that Clinton "wouldn't have spent money on the military."
Regarding the energy sector, Trump told CBN: "When I want tremendous energy, we're opening up coal, we're opening up natural gas, we're opening up fracking, all the things that he would hate, but nobody ever mentions that."
"So there are many things that I do that are the exact opposite of what he would want," Trump said to CBN.
The president's comments come amid renewed turmoil following reports that his eldest son met with an attorney with Kremlin ties. On Tuesday, Trump Jr. released email exchanges setting up that meeting.
One of those emails said the Russian lawyer claimed to have "high level and sensitive information" that would incriminate Clinton as part of "Russia and its government's support" for his father's presidential campaign.
The president hasn't been able to shake the public scrutiny as multiple investigations examine Moscow's efforts to meddle in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin. Trump has repeatedly denied collusion.
WATCH: Highlights of Trump's meeting with Putin
