President Trump issues rare praise to an unexpected news outlet — here's why

President Donald Trump issued a rare message of gratitude to one of his most vehement mainstream media foes on Tuesday — the progressive cable news channel MSNBC.

The president tweeted "Thank you @MSNBC!" and posted a video of their reporting on an admission about the Russian investigation from Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"NBC exclusive reporting on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Their investigation into Russian election interference, and what they have and have not uncovered," said Hallie Jackson on the video. "NBC's Ken Dilanian who has just jumped in front of a camera to join me with his new reporting."

"So Ken, what are you hearing," she asked, "what are you learning?"

"Hallie," Dilanian responded, "after two years and interviewing more than 200 witnesses, the Senate Intelligence Committee has not uncovered any direct evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia."

"That's according to sources on both the Republican and the Democratic side of the aisle, Hallie," he added.

Dilanian went on to note that Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the chairman of the committee, said as much in an interview last week, but Dilanian attempted to confirm the claim from the Democrats.

"What I found is that the Democrats don't dispute that characterization," he concluded.

The president appeared to welcome the reporting that the committee had been thus far unable to connect his 2016 presidential campaign with any activities that could be represented as colluding with the Russian government to change the outcome of the election.

The president has blasted MSNBC in the past for what he called "fake news."

"The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred," he tweeted in February 2018.

"@MSNBC & @CNN are unwatchable," he added. "@foxandfriends is great!"

Here's the full report from MNSBC:

Senate Has Found No Direct Evidence Of Collusion Between Trump And Russia | Hallie Jackson | MSNBCwww.youtube.com

Dilanian goes on to say that Democrats still point to suspicious interactions between the Trump campaign and agents of the Russian government, but that the report summing up act that activity likely won't be definitive about accusations of collusion.