President Donald Trump is catching heat after professing his respect and admiration for Russia’s Vladimir Putin during a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News.
Trump sat down with conservative Fox News host Bill O’Reilly Sunday, Feb. 5, to discuss the newly elected president’s first few weeks in office and during the interview, Trump was asked if he respected Putin. Without hesitation, Trump said yes.
“But, he’s a killer,” and incredulous O’Reilly exclaims.
“There are a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers,” Trump replies. “What, do you think our country’s so innocent?”
Despite Putin’s reputation as a demagogue, Trump insisted that forming a strong relationship with the Russian leader would be beneficial in the war on “Islamic terrorism.”
“He’s a leader in his country,” Trump says. “And if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS, which is a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all over the world — that’s a good thing.”
Mainstream media outlets echoed O’Reilly sentiments immediately following the interview and lambasted Trump for saying the U.S. was guilty of Putin-level violence.
Is Trump right? The latest Atlanta Black Star original says yes, he is.
