Current:Home > ScamsTrump says it would be a ‘smart thing’ if he spoke to Putin, though he won’t confirm he has -MoneyBase
Trump says it would be a ‘smart thing’ if he spoke to Putin, though he won’t confirm he has
View
Date:2025-04-14 04:29:48
CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to say whether he’s spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office, as reported in journalist Bob Woodward’s latest book. But if the two did speak, Trump said, it would be “a smart thing” for the United States.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, was pressed on his communication with the Russian president during a wide-ranging — and sometimes contentious — interview with Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago. Woodward reports in his book “War” that Trump has had as many as seven private phone calls with Putin since leaving the White House and secretly sent the Russian president COVID-19 test machines during the height of the pandemic.
A Trump campaign spokesperson previously denied the report. During Tuesday’s interview, Micklethwait posed the question to Trump directly: “Can you say yes or no whether you have talked to Vladimir Putin since you stopped being president?
“I don’t comment on that,” Trump responded. “But I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing. If I’m friendly with people, if I can have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing and not a bad thing in terms of a country.”
Trump said that Putin, who invaded neighboring Ukraine and who has been accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court, is well respected in Russia and touted his relationship with him, as well as the authoritarian leaders of North Korea and China.
“Look, I had a very good relationship with President Xi and a very good relationship with Putin, and a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” he said. Of Putin, he later added, “Russia has never had a president that they respect so much.”
Woodward reported that Trump asked an aide to leave his office at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, so that the former president could have a private call with Putin in early 2024. The aide, whom Woodward doesn’t name, said there have been multiple calls between Trump and Putin since Trump left office, perhaps as many as seven, according to the book, though it does not detail what they discussed.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called the reporting false. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the reporting about the calls was “not true.”
Trump’s relationship with Putin has been scrutinized since his 2016 campaign for president, when he memorably called on Russia to find and make public missing emails deleted by Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent. Trump publicly sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence officials on whether Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to help him, and Trump has criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia’s attack.
Later in Tuesday’s interview, Trump refused to say whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the November election. He also claimed there was a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, despite his supporters’ violent attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Come on. You had a peaceful transfer of power compared to Venezuela,” Micklethwait responded.
___
Peoples reported from New York.
veryGood! (17)
Related
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Real Housewives of Atlanta's Drew Sidora and Ralph Pittman Divorcing After 8 Years of Marriage
- In a twist of fate, Afghanistan military dog set to reunite with its owner in the U.S.
- Transcript: Rikki Klieman, Bill Bratton and Robert Costa Face the Nation panel, March 26, 2023
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Balenciaga's Paris Fashion Week Show Doesn't Ruffle Any Feathers Following Inappropriate Campaign
- Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2023 Red Carpet Fashion: See Every Look
- Berlin holds funeral for human bone fragments held by the Nazis to grant peace to all the victims
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- David and Victoria Beckham's Daughter Harper Is All Grown Up in Rare Family Photo
Ranking
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Beirut protest sees tear gas fired at retired officers as economic crisis leaves Lebanese struggling to survive
- Below Deck Preview Teases an Awkward Love Triangle Between Ben, Camille and New Stew Leigh-Ann
- Biden admin mulling nationwide TikTok ban if Chinese parent company doesn't divest
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- History of the World, Part II: Ike Barinholtz Reveals Mel Brooks’ Advice on “Dirty Jokes”
- Isle of Paradise Flash Deal: Save $25 on Mess-Free Self-Tanning Mousse
- Michelin-Starred Chef Curtis Stone Shares an Unexpected $4 Ingredient He Loves Cooking With
Recommendation
See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
Composer Nicholas Lloyd Webber, son of Andrew Lloyd Webber, dies at 43
Find Out Who the Daisy Jones and the Six Cast Used as 1970s Music Inspirations
Paris Hilton Showcases Her Mom Style in Sparkling Gown at Lele Pons' Star-Studded Wedding
Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
Activists in Hong Kong hold first protest in years under strict new rules
Kylie Jenner & Khloe Kardashian Bring Kids to Friend's Birthday Party That's Straight Out of a Fairytale
Judge Greg Mathis' Advice to Parents of Queer Children Will Truly Inspire You