‘Getting along with Putin is a good thing’: US should be friendly to Russia & not drive it towards China, ex-President Trump says

Former US President Donald Trump believes that maintaining a good relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin is in America’s national interests. He warned that the alternative will see Moscow becoming closer to China.

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump claimed that “nobody was tougher on Russia” than him, while also stating that he and Putin had a “very strong” personal relationship.

“Frankly, getting along with Vladimir Putin is a good thing, and I got along with him very well,” Trump said.

In particular, the 45th president noted that a bad relationship between Washington and Moscow could have side effects, such as encouraging the Russians to get closer to China, which he called “the worst thing.”

“We should be doing business with Russia. We should be getting along with Russia instead of forcing Russia to go into the hands of China,” Trump said. “The worst thing you could do is put China and Russia together, and they’re together, and they get forced together.”

While he was leader, Trump was often criticized by Democratic Party politicians and supporters who claimed he was too soft on Russia. There were also suggestions that he was in the pocket of the Kremlin, especially following his compliments of Putin’s leadership style. Trump has constantly denied these allegations.

In the Fox interview, he also pointed the finger at the current president, Joe Biden, noting that many of today’s foreign policy issues were not a topic during his tenure as leader. In particular, Trump said that Russia “never encircled Ukraine,” and the US didn’t need to send warships to the Taiwan Strait.

On April 15, Biden signed an executive order imposing further sanctions on Russia. The measures targeted 16 individuals and 16 entities allegedly involved in influencing the 2020 US election, and prohibited American banks from purchasing ruble or non-ruble denominated bonds issued by Russia’s Central Bank.

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