Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that he was not calling for Republicans in Congress to shut down investigations into possible collusion between Russians and his 2016 campaign when he tweeted on Wednesday that Republicans "should finally take control."

Trump said his message to congressional Republicans, while perceived as a call to end the investigations into collusion, was nothing more than him asking his party to "be tough."

"The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing," Trump tweeted . "Republicans should finally take control!"

"I just want them to be tough, be strong," Trump said in the interview. "I also think that primary collusion, because there was no collusion on our side, the collusion was on the Democrat side with the Russians."

Trump has long derided the investigations into possible collusion, slamming the inquiries as nothing more than a "witch hunt" and complaining about Republicans who are going along with the congressional investigations. Trump has also long maligned Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself and allowing special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate the collusion allegations.

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