President Donald Trump's vanquished 2016 Democratic opponent appears to be relishing his recent difficulties with news reports about his relationship with Russia.

"Like I said: A puppet," Hillary Clinton tweeted Monday, referencing a famous exchange between her and Trump during their third and final presidential debate.

On Oct. 19, 2016, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin did not respect the former secretary of state.

"Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States," Clinton replied.

"No puppet," Trump said, talking over her. "You're the puppet. No, you're the puppet."

Flashback:Trump, Clinton disagree over who's Putin's 'puppet'

"It's pretty clear you won't admit the Russians have engaged in cyber attacks against the United States of America, that you encouraged espionage against our people, that you are willing to spout the Putin line, sign up for his wish list, break up NATO, do whatever he wants to do and that you continue to get help from him because he has a very clear favorite in this race," Clinton continued.

More:Senate reports find millions of social media posts by Russians aimed at helping Trump, GOP

Clinton's tweet reiterating her claim that Trump is a Russian puppet comes after news reports over the weekend that added fuel to the debate over Trump's Russia ties.

The New York Times reported Friday that the FBI investigated whether Trump was working on Putin's behalf after he fired director James Comey. And on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Trump went to "extraordinary lengths" to conceal details from his conversations with Putin.

"I never worked for Russia," Trump told reporters Monday. He said the very question was a "disgrace" and repeated his belief that the investigation into his potential ties Russian election meddling was "a whole big fat hoax."

Trump:NYT report on FBI fear that he worked for Russia is 'most insulting article' ever

Washington Post:President Trump went to 'extraordinary lengths' to hide details of Putin meetings