David Jackson

USA TODAY

SCRANTON, Pa. — Seeking to counter the impact of the Democratic convention, Donald Trump on Wednesday all but invited Russia to hack Hillary Clinton and said he would "love to see" private emails from the former secretary of State, his election opponent.

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump told reporters at a news conference near Miami. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."

While mocking the Democrats for claiming Russia hacked the Democratic Party in an effort to aid his candidacy — and saying he knows nothing about it — Trump also assailed President Obama as "ignorant" and contended a Clinton administration would be worse.

In response to the Trump email suggestions, Clinton campaign senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said this is probably the first time a major presidential candidate has encouraged "a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent."

"That's not hyperbole, those are just the facts," Sullivan said in a statement. "This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue."

Donna Brazile, who is set to take over as interim chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee after the party concludes its convention, also blasted Trump's comments in an interview with USA TODAY as "so far over the line" and "outrageous."

As for the Democratic gathering in Philadelphia, the Republican nominee protested a lack of mentions about Islamic State terrorists, little talk about police officers getting killed and a paucity of American flags; he criticized Clinton for a lack of loyalty to ousted party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and claimed the Democrats offered no new ideas to lead the country.

"There's no change," Trump said. "It's going to be the same, it's going to be an extension of Obama."

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Trump also bashed the president on the day he was set to address the Democratic convention as "the most ignorant president in our history," and added that "I believe that Hillary Clinton will be even worse."

The candidate making his first run for public office also assailed Clinton running mate Tim Kaine, and mistakenly (and repeatedly) described him as being from New Jersey; Kaine is a senator and former governor of Virginia. (There is a former New Jersey governor named Tom Kean.)

As for attacks on him, Trump mocked Democratic claims that a Russian hack of Democratic National Committee emails — the incident that led to Wasserman Schultz's removal — is somehow connected to the Republican campaign.

"It's just a total deflection, this whole thing with Russia," Trump said.

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He added that whoever did the hack probably has emails that Clinton "lost" or deleted from the private account she maintained while at the State Department, the subject of a recent FBI investigation.

Democrats attending the convention in Philadelphia said Trump has business interests with the Russians, another reason they are demanding he release his tax returns.

At his news conference, Trump said he doesn't do business with Russia or with leader Vladimir Putin, despite the latter's praise for the Republican candidate. He again refused to release his tax returns until after a federal audit of them is complete.

"I have nothing to do with Russia," Trump said repeatedly, his voice rising at some points.

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Later in the day, Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the Republican candidate was not inviting Russia or anybody else to do anything, only pointing out that Clinton's private email system had been vulnerable to hacking.

Clinton deleted emails on her home server, and "it's hurting her campaign," Miller said on Twitter, accusing the Democrats of trying to change the subject.

Trump did not mention any hopes for an anti-Clinton hacking during an afternoon rally in Scranton, Pa., but did defend his compliments toward Putin. "Wouldn't it be a great thing if could actually get along with Russia?" he asked a cheering crowd.

The New York businessman again mocked Democratic claims of Russian involvement in the DNC hack said the focus should be on what the emails said, including evidence that Democratic Party officials unfairly favored Clinton over primary rival Bernie Sanders.

"These are lying, bad people, folks," Trump said.

Coming off his own convention last week in Cleveland, Trump has campaigned throughout the Democratic conclave in Philadelphia. After appearances earlier this week in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, Trump stumped Wednesday in two key industrial states: Pennsylvania and Ohio.

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The feelings between Trump and the Democrats are mutual. From the podium at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, speaker after speaker condemned the Republican nominee, saying his economic and foreign policies would trigger recession and undermine historic U.S. alliances across the globe.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., accused Trump of trying to divide Americans by race and gender by "fanning the flames of fear and hatred."

As Clinton formally accepts the Democratic nomination on Thursday night, Trump plans to campaign that same day in the swing state of Iowa. The New York businessman is scheduled to visit Colorado on Friday.

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While some Democrats are predicting a relatively easy win over Trump in November, President Obama said on NBC's Today show that nobody should take the election for granted.

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"I've seen all kinds of crazy stuff happen," Obama said. "I think anybody who goes into campaigns not running scared can end up losing."