Chinese state-run media unleashed an unusually strong rebuttal to tweets by U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing Beijing of hacking former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's email server, blasting the remarks as seemingly "from some alternative universe."

The official China Daily blasted Trump directly in an editorial published late Thursday, denying the allegation and saying that the U.S. leader was attempting to cast China as a "scapegoat" ahead of November elections in the United States.

"To the thinking person, there are few things more disconcerting than a tweet by the U.S. president as they initially seem to accord to reality but then quickly turn into messages from some alternative universe," the editorial said.