President Trump is disputing that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election, saying the idea was fabricated by Democrats to explain away their loss.

“The Democrats had to come up with a story as to why they lost the election, and so badly (306), so they made up a story — RUSSIA. Fake news!” he tweeted.

“FAKE NEWS media, which makes up stories and ‘sources,’ is far more effective than the discredited Democrats — but they are fading fast!”

The Democrats had to come up with a story as to why they lost the election, and so badly (306), so they made up a story - RUSSIA. Fake news! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 16, 2017

FAKE NEWS media, which makes up stories and "sources," is far more effective than the discredited Democrats - but they are fading fast! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 16, 2017

Trump’s comments go against the unanimous assessment of the nation’s intelligence community, which said Russia hacked political groups to disrupt the election and sow mistrust in the democratic process.

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Trump himself acknowledged last month that the hacking of Democratic groups was likely done by the Kremlin, saying, “As far as hacking, I think it was Russia.” But he noted at the time that other countries hack as well, and faulted the Democratic groups for not sufficiently protecting their data.

The president’s Thursday tweets add fuel to his feud with the intelligence community, which reached escalated this week when he blamed leaks from agencies for the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Trump’s own aides, however, have said the president demanded Flynn’s resignation because he lost trust in him after he misled senior officials about conversations with Russia's ambassador to the U.S.

Trump won 30 states in the November election, giving him 306 electoral votes. But two electors defected when the Electoral College cast ballots, so he ended up with 304.