Trump: ‘I love’ Orrin Hatch because he said I am a better president than Lincoln and Washington

President Donald Trump on Thursday boasted that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) called him a better president than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

During his talk with Republicans at their retreat in West Virginia, Trump told a story about how Hatch had complimented Trump by telling him he was the best president of his lifetime.

Trump then says he asked Hatch if he was a better president than people who were born before Hatch's lifetime, such as Washington and Lincoln.

"He said, 'yes,'" Trump explained. "I said, 'I love this guy.'"

A spokesperson for Hatch clarified the president's remarks to say that the senator only told him that he "could be" the greatest president ever, not that he was.

Watch the video below

Trump on @OrrinHatch: "He actually once said I'm the greatest President in the history of our country and I said, 'does that include Lincoln and Washington?' he said, 'yes' I said 'I love this guy'" pic.twitter.com/L7HPupJjpI

— Pat Ward (@WardDPatrick) February 1, 2018