President Donald Trump appears to defend President Vladimir Putin by equating U.S. actions with the authoritarian regime of the Russian leader. He said in an interview released on Saturday, "There are lots of killers. You think our country's so innocent?"
Trump made the remark in his interview with Bill O'Reilly for Fox News, implying that he respected his Russian counterpart. Clips of the interview was released on Saturday, while the full interview aired Sunday before the Super Bowl.
In the full interview, O'Reilly said to Trump that Putin is a killer. Trump came to Putin's defense, replying to his statement saying, "There are lots of killers. You think our country's so innocent?" He continued, "I think our country does plenty of killing also, just so you know. There's a lot of stupidity going on in the world right now, a lot of killing, and a lot of stupidity."
"We think that such words from a correspondent of the Fox News network are unacceptable and offensive," Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskove said during a telephone news conference. "We would, honestly, prefer to receive apologies from such a respected TV company."
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who is a part of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN that this is the second time Trump has defended Putin against the charge that he's a killer by saying in effect that the US is no better or different. Trump, who has made a similar assertion before in 2015, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that Putin is a great leader and does a good job in running his country.
However, in the interview with O'Reilly, Trump reminded that his respect towards someone doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to get along with them. He added that it's better to get along with Russia than not, although he isn't sure if he will get along with the Russian President. Trump and Putin spoke over the phone last Saturday to discuss about the fight against ISIS, among other issues.
