President-elect Donald Trump has often been criticized for his apparent affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On several occasions, Trump has heaped praise on Putin and the Russian president has reciprocated.
The mutual platitudes have been questioned by many, but a new CIA report alleging Russia tried to help Trump win the US election has thrust their rhetorical liaisons back into the spotlight.
Here’s a look at what Trump and Putin have said about each other.
At the end of 2015, Vladimir Putin lauded Trump’s presidential campaign, calling him “an absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it.”
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Source: Reuters
In response to Putin’s compliments Trump said: “It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.”
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Source: Business Insider
Putin has called Trump a “very outstanding man” and “unquestionably talented.”
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Source: AFP
When Russia continued its military buildup in Syria and Putin backed the country’s President Bashar al-Assad in 2015, Trump declared the Russian leader earned an “A” in leadership.
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Source: Associated Press
Trump not only gave the Russian leader an “A,” he also said Putin has been a better leader than US President Barack Obama. “He is really very much of a leader,” Trump said of Putin. “The man has very strong control over his country. Now, it’s a very different system, and I don’t happen to like the system, but certainly in that system he’s been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.”
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Source: Business Insider
At a national security forum in September, Trump explained his friendly relationship with Putin saying: “If he says great things about me, I’m going to say great things about him.”
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Source: Business Insider
When asked about allegations that Putin orchestrated the deaths of his political opponents and journalists, Trump defended Putin: “I haven’t seen any evidence that he killed anybody.”
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Source: Business Insider
After Trump won the election November 8, Putin sent the president-elect a telegram congratulating him on his victory.
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Source: Business Insider
Het bericht Here’s a look at what Trump and Putin have said about each other verscheen eerst op Business Insider.