United States President Donald Trump said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would have preferred Hillary Clinton winning last year's US presidential elections and decried the allegation that his campaign colluded with Moscow as the "greatest con job in history."

Trump indicated that it wasn't logical to believe that Putin would want him as US president and that the Russian president would have been happier if Hillary Clinton was in the White House, as she would have been soft on military spending. "...I'm a big military person... if Hillary had won, our military would be decimated," Trump said in the interview.

Trump made these comments to Christian Broadcasting Network's Pat Robertson, in what was his first major interview since his return from the G20 Summit in Germany, where he met Putin for the first time since assuming presidency.

Ever since Trump entered the White House, he has been bogged down by allegations that his presidential campaign colluded with Russia to ensure his victory. And in a separate interview to Reuters, Trump once again dismissed claims of his campaign colluding with Russia, calling the allegation a "hoax made up by the Democrats" and the "greatest con job in history". "There was zero coordination. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Trump said.

Buttressing his stand that there was no collusion with Russia, Trump, in his CBN interview, said that Putin doesn't like him and so, would not want him as the US president. "... Why would he want me? Because from day one I wanted a strong military, he doesn't want to see that," Trump said.

Trump went on to say that as US president he has done many things that are the "exact opposite" of what Putin would want, things that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton would not have done.

"So what I keep hearing about that he would have rather had Trump, I think 'probably not,' because when I want a strong military, you know she wouldn't have spent the money on military", Trump said, referencing his apparent push to increase the US's military capabilities.

'BIG ON MILITARY, BIG ON ENERGY'

Listing reasons why he believed Putin would "probably not" have wanted him as US president, Trump said he is focused on increasing his country's military power and getting the United States to export energy - both actions that, Trump said, Putin would not like.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee who lost the election to Trump, would have done the opposite as far as military and energy is concerned, and so would have endeared herself to Putin, the US president went on to indicate.

"From day one I want fracking and everything else to get energy prices low and to create tremendous energy. We're going to be self-supporting, we just about are now. We're going to be exporting energy...he (Putin) doesn't want that," Trump said.

"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," Trump added. "He would like Hillary where she wants to have windmills. He would much rather have that because energy prices would go up and Russia as you know relies very much on energy".

Speaking on military, Trump said, "We are the most powerful country in the world and we are getting more and more powerful because I'm a big military person. As an example, if Hillary had won, our military would be decimated. Our energy would be much more expensive. That's what Putin doesn't like about me."

"And that's why I say, why would he want me? Because from day one I wanted a strong military, he doesn't want to see that," Trump further said.

'GET ALONG WELL'

Speaking about his maiden meeting with Putin last week at the G20 Summit, Trump said he and the Russian president "get along very well".

"Yeah, I think we get along very well and I think that's a good thing, that's not a bad thing. People said, 'Oh they shouldn't get along.' Well, who are the people that are saying that? I think we get along very, very well. We are a tremendously powerful nuclear power, and so are they. It doesn't make sense not to have some kind of a relationship," Trump said.

"Sometimes you're not going to get along on things and sometimes you will. But we had a good meeting, it was a face to face meeting, it was a long meeting. It was two hours and 15 minutes. Everyone was surprised by the amount of time but that was a good thing and not a bad thing," Trump added said.

ON TRUMP JR MEETING RUSSIAN LAWYER

In his Reuters interview, Trump addressed this week's most controversial Washington story - that of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, revealing that last year, he agreed to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government attorney who possibly might have damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr agreed to the meeting during the US presidential elections last year, and the latest revelations have been held up by Trump critics as more proof of the alleged collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Moscow.

President Trump, however, said he does not fault his son for agreeing to meet the lawyer. Admitting that he did not know about the meeting until two days ago, Trump said, "I think many people would have held that meeting."

Addressing another controversial story related to the US presidential election, Trump said he asked Putin directly whether the Russian state had interfered in last year's US presidential election. "I said, 'Did you do it?' And he said, 'No, I did not. Absolutely not.' I then asked him a second time in a totally different way. He said absolutely not," Trump said.

US intelligence agencies have said that they believe Russia employed hackers and other warfare techniques in an attempt to influence the outcome of the presidential election.

"Look. Something happened (with regards to interference in the US president election) and we have to find out what it is, because we can't allow a thing like that to happen to our election process. So something happened and we have to find out what it is," Trump said when asked whether he believed Putin's denial of Russian involvement.

(With agency inputs)

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