On a recent interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Donald Trump was asked about his new-found friend Vladimir Putin, and whether knowing that Putin is responsible for the deaths of people and some journalists means anything. In that interview, Donald Trump’s answer on Morning Joe was “that’s the way it is.”
On Sunday, Donald Trump doubled down.
The Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday pushed back on the notion that Russian President Vladimir Putin has killed journalists, saying that it’s “terrible” if it’s happened but he hasn’t seen proof that it has.
“In all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people. I haven’t seen that. I don’t know that he has. Have you been able to prove that? Do you know the names of the reporters that he’s killed? Because I’ve been – you know, you’ve been hearing this, but I haven’t seen the names,” Trump said on ABC.
The Russian president, who some of Trump’s GOP rivals have called a “thug” and a threat, recently praised Trump as “bright and talented.”
When confronted with Mitt Romney’s tweet also alleging that Putin kills journalists and political opponents, Trump again dismissed the claims. “He’s always denied it,” Trump said of Putin. “He’s never – it’s never been proven that he’s killed anybody. So, you know, you’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, at least in our country. He has not been proven that he’s killed reporters.”
