During a news conference in Poland on July 6, Donald Trump said Barack Obama found out about Russia “in August. Now, the election was in November. That’s a lot of time. He did nothing about it.”
Our ruling
Trump said that Obama found out about Russia “in August. Now, the election was in November. That’s a lot of time. He did nothing about it.”
The Obama administration did not sit idle while Russia interfered in the election, as Trump makes it seem. The administration publicly named the Russian government as the culprit, confronted Putin in person, and worked to secure the country’s election infrastructure – all while the intelligence agencies investigated the issue.
That said, Obama waited until December, after the election, to take any public, punitive measures against Putin, when he kicked out diplomats and imposed sanctions.
Trump’s statement contains a grain of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, so we rate it Mostly False.
To read the full fact check, go to politifact.com.