Trump Draws Fire For Admiring Putin, Wanting Closer Relationship
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - More criticism has been leveled at President Donald Trump after he praised President Vladimir Putin on a cable talk show and said he'd like a closer relationship with Russia.
During an appearance on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor," Trump downplayed Putin's reputation.
"Putin's a killer," O'Reilly pointed out.
"There's a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers Boy you think our country's so innocent? You think our country's so innocent," he replied.
"I don't know of any government leaders that are killers," said O'Reilly.
The president then went on to say that America killed a lot of people during the war in Iraq.
Former acting CIA Director Mike Morrell said that the comment shows a lack of knowledge about how Putin treats his opponents.
"He has killed dozens and dozens of journalists, of political opponents both inside of Russia and outside of Russia," Morrell pointed out.
Trump has found very little support for his comments, even from his Republican allies on Capitol Hill.
"I don't think there is any equivalency between the way the Russians conduct themselves and the way the United States does," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union."
"There is no moral equivalency between the United States of America, the greatest freedom loving nation in the history of the world and the murderous thugs that are in Putin's defense of his cronyism," said Republican Senator Ben Sasse.
During a radio interview Sunday night, Trump defended his comments and said he didn't see a need to clarify or explain them. Meanwhile, in Russia, Putin has demanded an apology from Fox News and O'Reilly for calling him a killer.