Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out at White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest by describing him as a "foolish guy".


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Trump lashed out at Earnest after he admitted that President Barack Obama had known about the hackings prior to the election, but refrained from acting on it to avoid being seen as "meddler in the election".


Addressing a rally in Pennsylvania, the US President-elect said, "This foolish guy, Josh Earnest, I don't know."


"You know, having the right press secretary is so important because he's so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad. He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have totally defeated ISIS, and it wouldn't sound good, OK? Trump said.


The White House on Thursday clashed with Trump`s transition team over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.


"It is just a fact that the Republican nominee for President was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent because he believed it would help his campaign," Xinhua news agency quoted White House spokesman Josh Earnest as saying during the daily briefing.


The remarks came one day after Earnest suggested on Wednesday`s briefing that Trump was aware before Election Day that Russia was involved and "their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent`s campaign".


President Barack Obama has said the US will retaliate against Russian hacking aimed at interfering in the US election.