On Thursday, Putin hailed Trump as the “absolute leader” in the presidential race and praised his talk about building a deeper relationship with Russian Federation.
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“When people call you brilliant, it’s always good”, Trump said Friday.
First, the Russian leader, during an annual news conference in Moscow, described Trump as “an outstanding and talented personality”, adding: “He is a bright and talented person without any doubt”.
Trump brushed off the assertion by the show’s co-host Joe Scarborough that Putin “kills journalists and political opponents and invades countries”.
When Scarborough pushed again, arguing that Putin “kills journalist that don’t agree with him”, Trump didn’t budge.
“I think President Obama has effectively managed our relationship with Russia in a way that has advanced the interests of the United States, while also standing up for the basic global norms that Russia violated based on their activities along and across the Ukrainian border”, he said, referring to Russia’s support for Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. A lot of killing going on. “So I am confused, you obviously condemn Vladimir Putin killing journalists and political opponents, right?”
Trump responded to Putin’s new comments with his own praise, talking about how “respected” Putin is and declaring his hope that the US and Russian Federation can collaborate on military affairs, as well as trade (Trump probably means oil trade) issues. “Obama’s in the low 30’s, upper 40’s and he’s in the 80’s”. So sure, Putin is an authoritarian monster – a cult of personality with no regard for political opposition or global law – but hey, at least he’s a strong leader! “He’s got popularity within his country”. He said he did not spent much time thinking about the possible “consequences of a Trump presidency”. “And I don’t think you’d be having the kind of problems that you’re having right now”.
Donald Trump hasn’t gotten a lot of big name endorsements, so in that sense it’s not a huge surprise that he’d embrace a thumbs up from someone pretty well-known. He has given the Russian president an A for leadership and said he thinks they’d probably “get along pretty well” if they met. Now it seems the feeling is mutual.
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Notably, the resolution says members of Syria’s diaspora can vote in the election, which gives more say to people who have fled the conflict. She examines Putin’s changing stance on Syria. “I’m all for you”.
