This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Donald Trump has dismissed Jimmy Carter’s swipe at the legitimacy of his presidency, calling it nothing more than a “Democrat talking point” while offering his own digs at the 94-year-old former president.

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Speaking to reporters at a press conference at the G20 summit in Japan, Trump said he was surprised by the former president saying Russian interference in the 2016 election was responsible for putting him in the White House. He also punched back – though with a somewhat muted response.

“Look,” Trump said, “he was a nice man. He was a terrible president. He’s a Democrat. And it’s a typical talking point. He’s loyal to the Democrats. And I guess you should be.”

Trump added: “As everybody now understands, I won not because of Russia, not because of anybody but myself.”

He lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf Jimmy Carter

Speaking during a discussion on human rights at a resort in Leesburg, Virginia on Friday, Carter said there was “no doubt that the Russians did interfere” in 2016.

He also alleged that that interference, “though not yet quantified, if fully investigated would show that Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.”

The US intelligence community asserted in a 2017 report that Russia worked to help Trump and to undermine Hillary Clinton, a finding discussed at length by special counsel Robert Mueller in his report on such Russian efforts, links between the Trump campaign and Moscow and potential obstruction of justice by the president.

But the intelligence agencies did not assess whether that interference affected the election or contributed to Trump’s victory.

On Friday Trump met Vladimir Putin met at the G20 and jokingly raised the issue. Asked if he would tell Putin not to meddle in the 2020 election the US president, without looking at his Russian counterpart, said: “Don’t meddle in the election, please.’” He then repeated the phrase with a mock finger wag.

Trump lost the popular by nearly 3m ballots but won the White House in the electoral college.

In Osaka, he said: “As everybody now understands, I won not because of Russia, not because of anybody but myself. I … campaigned better, smarter, harder than Hillary Clinton … I won Michigan. I won Wisconsin. I won Pennsylvania. I won states that traditionally haven’t been won by a Republican. For many years haven’t been won by a Republican.

“And this had nothing to do with anybody but the fact that I worked harder and much smarter than Hillary Clinton did.”

Trump said he “felt badly” for Carter because of the way he’d “been trashed within his own party”.

“He’s been badly trashed,” said Trump. “He’s like the forgotten president. And I understand why they say that. He was not a good president. Look at what happened with Iran. That was a disaster. What Iran did to him – they tied him up in knots. The reason Ronald Reagan probably [became] president.”

Carter was the 39th president, in office between 1977, after beating Gerald Ford, and 1981, after losing to Ronald Reagan in a landslide. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.