US President Donald Trump says he meant the opposite when he said in Helsinki that he doesn't see why Russia would have interfered in the 2016 US elections.

Back at the White House today, the President told reporters that he said he meant he doesn't see why Russia "wouldn't" be responsible.

He also said he accepts the American intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the election, but he denied that his campaign had colluded in the effort.

Trump spoke a day after returning to the US to nearly universal condemnation of his performance at Russian President Vladmir Putin's side in Helsinki. Putin said he wanted Trump to win the race against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

WATCH NOW: President Trump makes remarks about his meeting with Vladimir Putin amid mounting criticism for failing to condemn Russian election meddling https://t.co/ZU0DDFnp0P pic.twitter.com/WzUfXvEv57

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 17, 2018

In Helsinki, Trump delivered no condemnation of Russia's interference and refused to say he believes American intelligence agencies over Russia's denials of meddling.

House Republicans have used a party-line vote to block a Democratic measure aimed at condemning Trump's stunning comments in Helsinki about Russia. It was the first vote testing how Congress will react to Trump's remarks.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is calling Nato the "most significant military alliance in history." McConnell said "the European countries are our friends and the Russians are not."

McConnell says there is "indisputable evidence" Russia tried to affect the 2016 presidential election. He says the Senate understands the "Russia threat" and that is the "widespread view here in the United States Senate among members of both parties."

The Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee wants Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to brief Capitol Hill about Trump's meeting with Putin.

Senator Bob Corker told reporters that Pompeo will "hopefully" come before the panel next week.

AP