President Trump on Thursday threatened to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “worst enemy” should their relationship deteriorate.
“Getting along with President Putin, getting along with Russia is positive not a negative,” Trump said in a CNBC interview set to air in full on Friday. “Now, with that being said if that doesn’t work out I’ll be the worst enemy he’s ever had – the worst he’s ever had.”
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Trump added that he had already adopted a strong stance against Russia after calling Germany “a captive” to Russia because it still relies heavily on its traditional adversary for energy sources.
“Now, you think that’s a positive for Russia? I’m talking them [Germany] out of things that they [Russia] were given billions of dollars. It’s ridiculous, by the way, that that’s happening,” Trump said, saying economic sanctions and diplomatic expulsions introduced by his administration were also evidence of his tough posture.
He also compared his foreign policy toward Russia to that of former President Barack Obama, whom he said “was a patsy for Russia.”
Trump has given a range of interviews this week in the wake of his controversial appearance at a joint press conference with Putin in Helsinki. He drew bipartisan ire on Monday for seeming to dismiss U.S. intelligence community assessments that indicate an extensive Kremlin-linked hacking and disinformation operation during the 2016 presidential campaigns designed to swing the election in Trump’s favor.
Trump and the White House have since tried to walk back his comments.
