The Obama administration decided not to retaliate against Russia for interfering in the presidential election because they did not want to start a cyber war and they expected Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonDemocratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida The Hill's Campaign Report: Presidential polls tighten weeks out from Election Day More than 50 Latino faith leaders endorse Biden MORE to win, NBC News reported Thursday.

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"They thought she was going to win, so they were willing to kick the can down the road," an official told the outlet.

President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE, who has dismissed assessments that Russia tried to influence the outcome of the election, raised the question on Thursday.

“If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?” Trump tweeted.

If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016

President Obama promised in an interview with NPR that aired Friday morning that the U.S. would retaliate against Russia over its suspected interference.

“I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections, that we need to take action and we will — at a time and place of our own choosing,” he said.

"Some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be,” Obama added.

A secret CIA assessment reportedly concluded Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help Trump win the White House — a report Trump and his aides have since blasted as "ridiculous."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest earlier this week suggested Trump was aware before Election Day that Russia was behind a series of hacks on Democrats and Democratic Party organs during the campaign.

Before the election, Clinton and the White House raised concerns about Russia's interference in the presidential race.

Back in July, Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, said it was "troubling" that experts were saying the hacks into the Democratic National Committee were "done by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump."

In October, the nation's top intelligence agencies publicly accused Russia of attempting to disrupt the U.S. election through alleged hacks of the DNC and the private email of Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta.

Rebecca Savransky contributed.