President Donald Trump, pictured at the White House, wrote on Twitter: "I try so hard" to be Kim Jong Un's friend. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Trump blasts 'haters and fools' on Russia relations, 'short and fat' Kim Jong Un

A day after igniting controversy with his off-the-cuff remarks to reporters on Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump on Sunday blasted "haters and fools" who he says are preventing good relations forming between the U.S. and Russia.

"When will all the haters and fools out there realize that having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing," the president wrote in an early morning tweet — Vietnam time — during his five-nation Asia tour. "There [sic] always playing politics - bad for our country. I want to solve North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia can greatly help!"


The president faced intense pushback on Saturday from politicians and commentators for accepting Putin's statement that his country did not meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a view that runs counter to the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence community.

The intelligence community concluded that the Russian government was behind the hacking of senior Democratic officials' emails. More recently, social media giants like Facebook and Twitter revealed that bot accounts operated by the Russian government sought to further sow discord in the political system during the campaign.

Trump has called special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russia's actions a "witch hunt" and told reporters on a gaggle aboard Air Force One that "people will die" because the inquiry hampers his ability to work with Russia on international flashpoints including North Korea and Ukraine.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The president added that he and Putin had "good discussions on Syria" and that he was hopeful Russia could help rein in North Korea's persistent nuclear threats. The U.S. and Russia later released a joint statement pledging to work together on Syria.

Trump later tweeted: "Does the Fake News Media remember when Crooked Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, was begging Russia to be our friend with the misspelled reset button? Obama tried also, but he had zero chemistry with Putin."

The president also lashed out at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a later tweet.

"Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Trump tweeted. "Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!"

The president was most likely referencing a North Korean state news agency statement from last week, which said that "no-one can predict when the lunatic old man of the White House, lost to senses, will start a nuclear war" against the country.

Trump, who has previous referred to Kim as "rocket man," had reined in his fiery rhetoric on North Korea and its authoritarian leader during the trip, pledging to work with China and others to find a solution to a nuclearized Korean Peninsula.