Trump says he wish he knew of Greek PM’s past criticism before joint briefing

by Ben Kamisar - 10/17/17 2:38 PM ET

President Trump joked Tuesday that he wished he had known Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras once criticized the possibility of his presidency as “evil” before he held a joint press conference with the politician.

During the joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden Tuesday, Tsipras was confronted about his past comment by Fox News’s John Roberts. Tsipras did not directly address the past criticism, but told reporters he feels “very optimistic” after his meeting with Trump.

“The United States is a very strong power and their ability to intervene for good are very very important. I want to confirm that the meeting we had was very productive, not a moment did I feel threatened at any time,” Tsipras said, according to the translation provided on the White House’s official video stream of the news conference.

“There was a very fertile outlook here in order to set aside any differences we may have to find the common ground, which is really important for the relationship between our two peoples that are traditional and historical, and for our common objectives.”

Just before his comments, Trump quipped — “I wish I knew that before my speech.” {mosads}

Trump responded to Tsipras’s description of the meeting by explaining world leaders who had once been “nervous” about the prospect of his presidency are now on board.

“A number of countries were a little bit nervous at the beginning, and I have very good relationships with the leaders of virtually every country I’ve dealt with,” Trump said during remarks alongside Tsipras.

“The reason they were concerned was because I will not allow our country, the United States of America, to be taken advantage of by so many other countries.”

Before Trump secured the GOP nomination, Tsipras had been quoted sharing his concern with the prospect of Trump’s election.

“Tell me who of you would believe a few months ago that in the U.S. today, the front-runner on behalf of the Republicans for the nomination of the candidate President would be Mr. Trump?” he asked, according to The Associated Press.

“And of course what this nomination marks, the ideas it represents, the appeal it reaches, and the threat to become even President — I hope we will not face this evil,” Tsipras said at the time.

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