President Trump on Thursday said that Russia must be "laughing up their sleeves" as the country watches the debate in the United States over his firing of FBI Director James Comey.

"Russia must be laughing up their sleeves watching as the U.S. tears itself apart over a Democrat EXCUSE for losing the election," Trump tweeted.

Russia must be laughing up their sleeves watching as the U.S. tears itself apart over a Democrat EXCUSE for losing the election. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2017

The White House said Trump fired Comey because of his mishandling of an investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server for government work. Democrats have heavily criticized Comey's actions, which Clinton cited as a reason she lost the election.

Trump previously had praised Comey for sending a letter, just weeks before Election Day, notifying lawmakers that the FBI had found new evidence related to the Clinton investigation. Democrats have accused him of firing Comey because of the Russia investigation.

Trump has defended his decision, arguing that Comey has lost confidence of the American people and both political parties.

Trump tweeted shortly after a discussion on CNN about whether Russia was laughing at the U.S.

In a separate interview this week, Trump said he no longer watches CNN. But seeing his tweet, host Jake Tapper thanked the president for watching the news channel, implying that Trump saw a segment of him discussing Russia moments earlier.