Trump praises embattled Attorney General William Barr, says 'I do make his job harder'

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump praised Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday, brushing aside earlier criticism in which Barr asserted the president's Twitter posts on criminal cases were making it "impossible for me to do my job."

"I do make his job harder. I do agree with that," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, where the president was preparing to fly to California. "He's a very straight shooter. We have a great attorney general and he's working very hard."

The response was unusual for Trump, who rarely shies from punching back against those who criticize him – even if those people are members of his Cabinet. Barr, in an interview with ABC last week, suggested the president should stop weighing in with his thoughts on criminal cases handled by the Justice Department.

"It's time to stop the tweeting about the Department of Justice criminal cases," he said.