Trump calls Dan Coats a ‘great patriot,’ says he’ll accept his Russia assessment

President Trump said Wednesday he’d accept the assessment from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats that Russian attempts to interfere in U.S. elections are ongoing, despite Trump publicly offering a range of opinions about the danger Kremlin-linked interference operations pose to the American political process.

“Well, I’d accept that. He’s an expert. This is what he does. He’s been doing a very good job. I have tremendous faith in Dan Coats,” Trump commented during an interview with CBS. “I will tell you though, it better not be. It better not be.”

“He’s a great guy, he’s a great patriot, he loves his country, and he’s only going to say what he truly believes,” Trump said of Coats.

[More: Trump’s own intelligence chief distances himself from Russian meddling comments]

Trump’s comments contradict an interview he gave the network over the weekend, in which he said he didn’t agree with Coats that the country’s digital infrastructure was “literally under attack” and that Russia is the “worst offender.”

On Wednesday, Trump admitted he hadn’t had much confidence in U.S. intelligence agencies in the past, but said he had more faith in the institutions “in the present and the future because it’s getting to be now where we’re putting our people in.”

Trump additionally dismissed criticism of his performance at the controversial press conference he held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday at the conclusion of their first official series of bilateral meetings.

“I totally disagree. I think I did great at the news conference,” he said, specifically referring to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s, R-S.C., claims he showed “weakness” at the podium.

“We’re living in the real world,” he added, when pressed about why he wasn’t more forceful with Putin.

[Also read: Military veterans divided over Trump’s Russia comments]