resident Donald Trump found himself isolated and under pressure to reverse course Tuesday after publicly challenging the US intelligence conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 election during his face-to-face with Vladimir Putin.
At his inaugural summit with the Russian president in Finland, Trump appeared to accept at face value the strongman's denial that Moscow interfered in a bid to undermine his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton -- a stance that triggered bipartisan outrage at home.
Back in Washington, Trump sounded a defensive note, insisting his meeting with Putin had been "even better" than his one last week with traditional allies NATO -- a testy gathering seen as having badly strained trans-Atlantic ties.
But the US president has found precious little support for his failure to confront Putin, and faced calls even from allies to change tack.