Trump accuses Obama of being behind town hall protests

President Donald Trump blamed his predecessor, Barack Obama, for the outbreak of town hall protests across the country targeting Republican lawmakers and for the media leaks that have plagued his first month in office.

“I think [Obama] is behind it. I also think it's politics. That's the way it is,” Trump said in an interview on "Fox & Friends" that aired Tuesday morning, just hours before his first address to Congress.


Republicans have faced an uproar from liberals and progressives at town hall meetings over Trump's and Congress’ push to repeal and replace Obamacare and over the president’s relationship with Russia.

The White House and GOP have accused some protesters of being paid. Trump weighed in on the demonstrations last week as well, tweeting that the “so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!"

The president also accused supporters of Obama of being behind media leaks — leaks that Trump has vowed to crack down on.

“Some of the leaks possibly come from that [Obama supporters] group, you know, some of the leaks, which are really very serious leaks, because they're very bad ... in terms of national security,” he said.

Trump’s administration has been hit by several high-profile leaks, including a recent CNN story that the FBI wouldn’t publicly dispute reports that people connected to Trump had been in contact with Russian intelligence officials during the 2016 election.

