Donald Trump’s praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin is reminiscent of the relationship between Ronald Reagan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a top adviser to the Republican presidential nominee said Sunday.
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani defended Trump’s recent comment that he would “be nice” to Putin, whom he later called a stronger leader than President Obama, so long as the Russian president continues to compliment him.
“Gorbachev was a killer, just like Putin is a killer,” Giuliani told George Stephanopoulos. “But that ended the Cold War without firing a shot because Reagan was capable of walking out of Reykjavík.”
“As Trump made clear the other night in Pensacola, he’s perfect with walking out of a deal if it’s not in the best interests of the United States,” he continued. “Wouldn’t be the first time he walked out of a deal, and generally … when he walks out of a deal, they come back on his terms, just like they did with Reagan and Reykjavík.”
Giuliani added that Reagan and Gorbachev “dealt with each other” to end the Cold War, and Trump could do the same with Putin while working with Russia to eradicate the Islamic State.
“He’ll be negotiating with Putin the way Reagan did, from a position of strength, rather than the president, who’s negotiating with him — to the extent that he does, they did over Syria, from a position of weakness,” he said.
