--- description: President Trump held a loose, combative press conference that touched on his views on Russia and the first weeks of his Administration. title: Read Trump's Most Interesting Comments From That Press Conference image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f5f8bb4db541334/6988baadf887dc9cfae9919b/donald-trump-blames-media.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read President Trump's Most Trumpy Comments From That Press Conference by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 16, 2017 7:32 PM CUT  President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference announcing Alexander Acosta as the new Labor Secretary nominee in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 16, 2017. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference announcing Alexander Acosta as the new Labor Secretary nominee in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 16, 2017.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 16, 2017 7:32 PM CUT President Trump held a loose, combative press conference that touched on his views on Russia, the first weeks of his Administration and [his views on the media](http://time.com/4673707/donald-trump-press-conference-news-media/ "undefined"). After several press conferences in which he only called on conservative media outlets while avoiding tough questions on the firing of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and other difficult topics, Trump spoke at length and then took questions from a wide range of reporters. The subject of the hour-plus press conference was ostensibly his choice for Labor Secretary, [Alexander Acosta](http://time.com/4673413/donald-trump-labor-secretary-alexander-acosta/ "undefined"), who was announced just one day after CKE Restaurants CEO [Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination](http://time.com/4672325/andy-puzder-labor-withdraw-donald-trump/ "undefined"), though Trump spoke only briefly on the nomination. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting things he said at the press conference. **On the state of the country:** “As you know, our Administration inherited many problems across government and across the economy. To be honest, I inherited a mess. It’s a mess. At home and abroad, a mess.” **On the beginning of his Administration:** “I turn on the T.V., open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos. Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine.” **On drug abuse:** “We’re becoming a drug infested nation. Drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars. We are not going to let it happen any longer.” **On whether he would meet with the Congressional Black Caucus:** “I would. You want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours?” **On anti-Semitism in the United States:** “Number one, I am the least anti-Semitic person you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Number two, racism, the least racist person.” **On a Russian spy vessel that is off the U.S. coastline:** “Not good.” **On misstating his Electoral College win at the press conference:** “Well, I don’t know, I was given that information. I was given.” **On his connections with Russia:** “I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals in Russia.” **Again, on Russia:** “Russia is a ruse.” **On Hillary Clinton’s “reset” with Russia as Secretary of State:** “Hillary Clinton did a reset, remember? With the stupid plastic button that made us all look like a bunch of jerks.” **On CNN’s coverage of him:** “I watch CNN, it’s so much anger and hatred and just the hatred.” **On whether stories about Mike Flynn’s resignation are “fake news”:** “The leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake because so much of the news is fake.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4673624/donald-trump-press-conference-combative/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4673624/donald-trump-press-conference-combative/"},"headline":"Read President Trump's Most Trumpy Comments From That Press Conference","datePublished":"2017-02-16T19:32:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:23:09.855Z","description":"President Trump held a loose, combative press conference that touched on his views on Russia and the first weeks of his Administration.","url":"https://time.com/4673624/donald-trump-press-conference-combative/","keywords":["Donald Trump","White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f5f8bb4db541334/6988baadf887dc9cfae9919b/donald-trump-blames-media.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f5f8bb4db541334/6988baadf887dc9cfae9919b/donald-trump-blames-media.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Holds News Conference In East Room Of White House","caption":"President Trump Holds News Conference In East Room Of White House","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4673624/donald-trump-press-conference-combative/","name":"Read President Trump's Most Trumpy Comments From That Press Conference"}}]}] ```