Trump riffs on Comey, North Korea during impromptu Q&A on White House lawn

U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at longtime adversaries, including former FBI director James Comeyand CNN, before going on the defensive when asked about the North Korean leader's human rights record, during an impromptu and wide-ranging media briefing Friday.

Standing on the North Lawn of the White House,Trump first spoke to a Fox News morning showabout the562-page report by the inspector general at the U.S. Department of Justice, which criticized how Comeyhandled the 2016email probe into Hillary Clinton's use of aprivate email server while she was secretary of state.

Trump told Fox & Friends host Steve Doocythat what Comeydid during the 2016 email probe was "criminal" and a "terrible thing," in contrast to findings by the department's inspector general Michael Horowitz in a report released Thursday.

The report concluded the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation broke protocol in his handling of the email investigation and thatComeywas "insubordinate" when he plunged the FBI into the midst of the 2016 election with a news conference chastising Clinton for using a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Trump: 'I think that James Comey was unfair to the people of this country'

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Duration 1:14

Trump: 'I think that James Comey was unfair to the people of this country'

However, Horowitz also concluded there was no evidence thatComey'sconduct was politically motivated. Asked by SteveDoocyofFox &Friendsto respond to that,Trump called the conclusion"ridiculous" and the report a "horror show."

Trump said the Horowitz report "totally exonerates me," when,in fact, it was not investigating the presidentor hisown campaign's alleged collusion with Russia.

Trump: 'I think the report yesterday totally exonerates me'

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Trump: 'I think the report yesterday totally exonerates me'

On theU.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore on Tuesday, Trump said "what a fraud" in reference to CNN coverage of the meeting between the U.S. president and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."

On North Korea:'We get everything'

"[The statement]says [Kim]will denuclearize. You know it's funny when you see the fake news, and you guys aren't fake but, I signed an agreement where we get everything, everything, but they say Trump lost because he agreed to meet," Trump said.

"If you don't agree to meet, You know what ya gonna have? You're gonna have nuclear war, that's what you're going to have."

Later,Trump unexpectedly made his way through a crowd of White House reporters and was asked about everything from Russia toNorth Korea andChina.

Trump called Kim Jong-un a "strong head" who makes people "sit up at attention" when he speaks, prompting a reporter to ask, "In the same breath, you're defending now Kim Jong-un's human rights records. How can you do that?"

"You know why? Because I don't want to see a nuclear weapon destroy you and your family," Trump responded.

Trump: 'I don't want to see a nuclear weapon destroy you and your family'

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Duration 4:55

Trump: 'I don't want to see a nuclear weapon destroy you and your family'

During the Singapore summit,Kim reaffirmed the North's commitment to "work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Trump said moreimportantthan what he called "the agreement" "I have a good relationship with KimJong-un." What he was referring to wasa joint statement, a page and a half in length, containingwhat appeared to be language extracted from previous statements negotiated by the North over the last two decades.

North Korea's state media hailed the summit as a success, including highlighting Trump's surprise announcement after the meeting that the United States would stop military exercises with South Korea, which the North has long sought.

The U.S. says tough sanctions would remain on North Korea until its complete denuclearization, apparently contradicting the North's view that the process agreed at this week's summit would be phased and reciprocal.

"We're going to have a very strong verification process," Trump told reporters at the White House media scrum.

He said he "spoke with China" about the summit and "they're very happy," although he added that "theymay not be as happy today" after the U.S. approved a plan to impose tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China.

When asked whether he planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this summer, Trump said "it's possible."

"Just like North Korea it's much better if we get along with them than if we don't, so it's possible," he said.

BlamesDemocrats for borderpolicy

During the unexpected briefing, the Republican presidentblamed the Democrats for the separation of families at the U.S. borderand said, "I hate to see separation of parents and children," but that the "Democrats forced that law upon our nation."

Trump: 'I hate the children being taken away the Democrats have to change their law'

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Trump: 'I hate the children being taken away the Democrats have to change their law'

The Trump administration says almost 2,000 children have been separated from their families at the border over a six-week period, from April 19 through May 31,under a policy cracking down on illegal entry.

In early May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Department of Homeland Security officials would refer all cases of illegal entry for criminal prosecution. He saidthe children must be separated from their families because they can't go to jail with them.

There is no law that requires immigrant families to be separated.