Zero Hedge
February 5, 2017
In a Fox News interview set to air at 4pm on Sunday, just ahead of the Superbowl, and which is sure to unleash a fresh firestorm of accusations that president Trump is a Kremlin puppet, the US president will defend Vladimir Putin on national TV, saying he respects the Russian leader and accusing the US of not being as innocent as it may seem.
In the interview, Bill O’Reilly asked if Trump respects Russian President Vladimir Putin, to which the he replied, “I do respect him. Well, I respect a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get along with them.”
After O’Reilly asks why, Trump answers: “He is the leader of his country. I say it’s better to get along with Russia than not, and if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS – which is a major fight – and the Islamic terrorism all over the world, that’s a good thing. Will I get along with him? I have no idea.”
O’Reilly pressed Trump on his statement, saying, “But he’s a killer though. Putin’s a killer.”
Trump shrugged the comment off, saying: “There are a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country is so innocent?”
Shortly after midnight, WikiLeaks was quick to point out Trump’s statement:
Trump on US government last night: O’Reilly: “Putin’s a killer” Trump: “There are a lot of killers. You think our country is so innocent?”
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 5, 2017
As RT reminds us, it is not the first time that Trump has made such comments when journalists question his stance regarding the Russian leader. At the end of 2015, the host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe told Trump that Putin “kills journalists,” to which the unfazed then-presidential candidate replied, “I think that our country does plenty of killing, too, Joe.”
“I’ve always felt fine about Putin. He’s a strong leader. He’s a powerful leader,” Trump…