Trump angrily insists 'many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki'

President Donald Trump was up early Wednesday morning to insist he hadn't gotten played by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The president was forced to awkwardly and narrowly walk back his defense of Russia against U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies Tuesday by reading a typed statement, and he took to Twitter the following morning to defend his conduct in Europe.

"So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki," Trump said. "Putin and I discussed many important subjects at our earlier meeting. We got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match. Big results will come!"

It's not clear who those people were, or whether he meant they were members of the intelligence community or just simply seemed smart to him.

"While the NATO meeting in Brussels was an acknowledged triumph, with billions of dollars more being put up by member countries at a faster pace, the meeting with Russia may prove to be, in the long run, an even greater success," Trump tweeted. "Many positive things will come out of that meeting."

Trump offered one revelation about what he and the Russian president discussed during their private, one-on-one meeting that stretched to more than two hours, which was followed by a widely criticized joint news conference.

"Russia has agreed to help with North Korea, where relationships with us are very good and the process is moving along," he tweeted. "There is no rush, the sanctions remain! Big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!"