On Friday, Trump tweeted this defense:
It really doesn’t matter which came first, the Russian election meddling or Trump’s candidacy announcement. But since he’s drawn attention to the 2014 date of his campaign start, it’s important to note that that date is totally bogus. Trump decided to run long before he publicly announced. How long before? Probably on the day after President Obama’s re-election on Nov 6, 2012. How do I know this? Because I looked up the date he registered his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
He asserts that he can’t be guilty of collusion because the events happened in the wrong order. He’s unintentionally admitting that he’s guilty of collusion if the Russian meddling happened after his decision to run. But he’s lied about the order of events, so by his own faulty logic, he’s admitted that he’s guilty of collusion.
Trump registered his MAGA slogan on Nov 19, 2012. Less than two weeks after the 2012 election, more than a year before the start of the Russian meddling, and more than two and a half years before Trump slithered down the escalator in NY on June 16, 2015.
Here’s a copy of the official record of his trademark registration (note the Nov 19, 2012 filing date):