Donald Trump welcomed Vladimir Putin’s praise for his leadership abilities, but warned the Russian president Wednesday night his compliments would not win him favor with the U.S. government.
“I think when he calls me brilliant, I’ll take the compliment,” Trump told NBC’s “Today Show” host Matt Lauer during a Commander in Chief forum. “The fact is look, it’s not going to get him anywhere. I’m a negotiator … the fact that he calls me brilliant or whatever he calls me is going to have zero impact.”
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Putin called the billionaire businessman a “brilliant leader” earlier this year for his ability to rally Republicans and beat 16 other candidates in the primary season. Trump had responded by calling the Putin — who annexed Crimea, invaded Eastern Ukraine and has had a history of provoking America — a man who is “highly respected by his country.”
Trump defended his return compliment of the Russian president to Lauer, telling him at least Russians respect their leader compared to only half of Americans who approve of President Obama’s job.
“He does have an 82 percent approval rating, according to the different pollsters. By the way, some of them are based here,” Trump added. Obama’s current approval rating stands at 50 percent. “The man [Putin] has very strong control over a country. 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.”
