WASHINGTON – When Dan Coats was tapped by President Donald Trump to be his intelligence director, some of the Indiana Republican's former Senate colleagues wondered if he was too nice for the job.

“I’m not sure likeability and affability are the qualities I want in this position,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, told Coats at his confirmation hearing. "You’re going to be reporting to a president who may or may not want to hear what you have to say.”

That turned out to be an understatement.

"They are wrong!" Trump tweeted Wednesday, after Coats and other leaders of the intelligence services backed differing views of the president's on Iran and North Korea when testifying before Congress this week.

Trump backtracked Thursday, accusing the news media of incorrectly describing the testimony, after initially telling reporters that time will prove him right and his intelligence leaders wrong.

That's become a familiar pattern.

Here's a recap of the clashes between Trump and his director of national intelligence.

Trump sides with Putin

At a news conference in last July, Trump appeared to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin's denial of interference in the 2016 elections over what Coats and others had said are undisputed facts.

"My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me, some others, they said they think it's Russia," Trump said as he stood next to Putin at a joint news conference between the two leaders following their talks in Helsinki. "I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be."

In response, Coats issued a statement saying the intelligence community has been "clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy."

"We will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security," Coats also said.

The next day, Trump said he had misspoken, and that he meant to say he saw no reason why it "wouldn't" be Russia that interfered.

Another reversal

The day after walking back those comments in July, Trump was asked by reporters whether Russia is still targeting the U.S.

"No," he said, again contradicting statements Coats had made.

After another public furor, the White House said Trump's response was misunderstood.

Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump was “saying ‘no’ to answering questions" from the reporters, not "no" to the question itself.

Coats' candid reaction

While some commentators urged Coats to resign to protect his honor and the honor of the intelligence community, he appeared unruffled.

"As long as I'm able to have the ability to seek the truth and speak the truth, I'm on board," Coats said when asked that week in July if he'd ever considered quitting.

But he couldn't keep his composure when, during the live interview with NBC's Andrea Mitchell at the Aspen Security Forum, news broke that Trump had invited Putin to Washington.

Coats grimaced.

"OK ...," he said, while laughing. "That's going to be special."

Coats also said he had not known in advance of Trump's 2017 White House meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador, at which Trump revealed highly classified information. The meeting, Coats said, was "probably not the best thing to do."

Was Coats "Anonymous"?

Because of Coats' candor, he was immediately among those speculated to be the author of a September New York Times essay that offered blistering criticism of Trump. The anonymous writer, described by the Times as a "senior official in the Trump administration," described the president as erratic and amoral.

Coats called the speculation that his office penned the letter "patently false."

"We did not," Coats said in a statement. "From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire (intelligence community) remain focused on our mission to provide the president and policymakers with the best intelligence possible."

Coats' increases transparency

In January, Coats issued publicly his agency's 2019 report on major threats, a departure from past years when the office generates both a public report and a separate classified version. The Washington Post described the change as "an effort by Coats to be more transparent in the face of sustained attacks from the president and his allies on the right against what they've taken to calling the Deep State."

In the reports' introduction, Coats said he is fortunate to lead an intelligence community "composed of the best and brightest professionals."

Contradicting Trump

Trump had a different description of that community Wednesday.

"The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran," Trump tweeted. "Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!"

While Trump defended his decision to withdraw the United States from the Iranian nuclear deal – in which the U.S. and allies eased sanctions on Tehran as it gave up the means to make nuclear weapons – the intelligence community said the country continues to live up to its end of the bargain.

"We do not believe Iran is currently undertaking activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device,” Coats told senators Tuesday.

Trump continues to plan a second summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – date and location to be determined – and expresses confidence that Kim is committed to junking his nuclear weapons programs.

But Coats also testified Tuesday that North Korea is "unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons."

In tweets, Trump said the U.S. relationship with North Korea is "the best it has ever been." He said they have stopped nuclear testing, and claimed a "decent chance of Denuclearization."

Blaming the media

Asked by reporters Thursday if he still has confidence in Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel to give him good advice, Trump responded, "No, I disagree with certain things that they have said."

"I think I'm right, but time will prove that," Trump added. "Time will prove me right, probably."

But, in later remarks to reporters and in a tweet, Trump said there was no difference in views between him and his intelligence leaders.

"Just concluded a great meeting with my Intel team in the Oval Office who told me that what they said on Tuesday at the Senate Hearing was mischaracterized by the media," Trump tweeted. "We are all on the same page!"

What's next?

Hours after that tweet, the New York Times released excerpts from a Thursday interview with Trump in which he was asked about Coats.

"I’m happy with Dan Coats. I am," Trump responded, before adding: "That doesn’t mean ...."

Asked if that's a change, Trump remained cryptic.

"Well, no, everybody changes," he said. "You know, this business, other than me, everybody changes."

Contributing: David Jackson and Will Cummings.