For the first time ever, President Donald Trump admitted that Russia helped him win the 2016 election Thursday morning, though he tried to backtrack soon after.

Russia, Russia, Russia! That’s all you heard at the beginning of this Witch Hunt Hoax…And now Russia has disappeared because I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected. It was a crime that didn’t exist. So now the Dems and their partner, the Fake News Media,….. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019

Less than an hour later, he contradicted himself in front of a gaggle of reporters on the South Lawn as he left for Colorado.

“No Russia did not get me elected,” he told the scrum. “Do you know who got me elected? I got me elected. Russia didn’t help me at all.”

Trump backtracks on admitting that Russia helped him win the election pic.twitter.com/pPJWfdNOB5 — TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) May 30, 2019

Trump’s comments come a day after special counsel Robert Mueller broke his two-year silence, highlighting the conclusions in his report about Russia’s “multiple, systematic efforts” to sway the 2016 election.