everybody. we re doing very well. we are doing very well and we re doing very well, probably as well as anybody has ever done with russia. i had a chance to speak with the president after his comments and the president was said thank you very much, and was saying no to answering questions. can you tell us what s going on? well, since there s currently not an election today, not specifically. so despite the video that shows the president looking at cecelia and answering no to the question about whether russia is still targeting the u.s. and despite multiple people in the room understanding the president was responding to that question and despite the president never having said the word no, no repeatedly to usher the reporters out of the room, you re saying the first thing the president said after the question was asked, thank you very much, and then he said no. further, i think cecelia didn t realize what the answer was because she asked for
receives a number of briefings and has talked about this subject pretty extensively. we re aware of others that have made attempts but i can t get into any of that here at this point. i want to clarify about something you talked about at the beginning of the briefing. despite the video of the president answering no to this question about whether russia is still targeting the u.s., and despite multiple people in the room understanding the president was responding to that question, despite the president never before having said no, no repeatedly to you shall ears reporters out of the room, you re saying it is the reverse. after the question was asked, the president said thank you. he said, no, i m not answering your question. and even further, i think even cecelia didn t realize what the answer was because she asked for clarification and he didn t answer the follow-up. again because she wasn t sure. i talked to the president. he wasn t answering that question. he was saying no,
critical infrastructure. the department of homeland security has taken the lead in working with all 50 states, local governments and private companies to improve election security. dhs has increased coordination among election partners, 34 states, five election companies received cyber security scans regularly from dhs. dhs plans to provide on site risk and vulnerability assessments to all states who request it. so far 18 states have requested this assessment. a pilot program was launched to increase rapid response capabilities on election day. in 2017 on site cyber security support was eye provided. march 2018 congress provided the election assistance commission with $380 million in funding for election assistance grants to states. these are steps that we ve taken to prevent it from happening. these are steps that we have taken because we see there is a threat there. cecelia. reporter: i want to clarify that you just said. dan coats said point blank the threat is still ongoing from
made attempts, but i can t get into any of that here at this point. i have two questions for you and i want to clarify something you talked about at the beginning of the briefing. despite the video that shows the president answering no to this question about whether russia is still targeting the u.s. and despite multiple people in the room understanding that the president was responding to that question and despite the president having never before said the word no, no repeatedly to usher reporters out of the room, you re saying it s the reverse. it s the first thing the president said after the question was asked was thank you very much. and then he said no, i m not answering in imore questions. and even further, i think even cecelia didn t realize what the answer was because she asked a follow-up. because she wasn t sure. i talked to the president. he wasn t answering that question. he was saying no, he s not taking questions. and i ve stated what our position is. so let me get
tragically passed away. he was a five-year veteran of the united states marines and spent 19 years with the secret service. the president and the first lady are deeply grateful for his devotion to his country and the men and women of the secret service maybenormous sacrifices for our safety and security, and we are forever in their debt. with that, i will take your questions. major. reporter: earlier cecelia asked the president, is russia still targeting the u.s.? he said no. is that what the president believes? did he understand the question? is his position that, no, russia is not doing anything to interfere or meddle in the 2018 election? i had a chance to speak with the president after his comments and the president was said thank you very much and was saying no to answering questions. the president and his administration are working very hard to make sure that russia is unable to meddle in our elections as they have done in the past and as we have stated. reporter: he does