Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) is taking a creative approach to dealing with President Donald Trump’s statement about accepting foreign dirt on political opponents: pretending the President never said it.

“It is very sad when the Speaker of the House continues these ridiculous attacks against the President,” he said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “The President of the United States is doing an outstanding job,” he added, completely dodging a question about Trump’s own statements.

He continued to portray the issue like one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) own invention rather than direct quotes Trump said into a camera.

“This is just an act of despair literally by not only the Speaker, but Democrats who will not allow the American people to see the great job that not only this administration does but what Republicans in Congress like myself have done,” he continued. “These are just fictitious attempts by the left to reach out in a very desperate way.”

In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, part of which was released Wednesday, Trump said that he would “take it” if a foreign government gave him information on his political opponents, saying that he’d “maybe” turn it in to the the FBI, but concluding after a rambling tirade that “you don’t call the FBI.”

On Thursday, Pelosi called the remark an “assault on our democracy” and said that Americans should be “appalled.”