President Donald Trump in an interview that was recorded on Saturday praised anti-election protests that ended in violence.

Trump mentioned Saturday's protests while speaking to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade prior to the annual Army-Navy football game. He suggested that the rallies are evidence that the country does not want him to drop his election challenges.

"There are thousands and thousands of people," Trump insisted. "I had nothing to do with it. I didn't really know they were forming. They're forming. I'm just saying -- the spirit, the liveliness, the whole thing, even the fundraising, the money that's pouring in."

Trump's remarks came just hours before his supporters violently clashed with counter-protesters in Washington, according to The Guardian.

Although the president disavowed knowledge of the protests, he has spent weeks firing up his supporters with false claims of a "stolen" election.