Despite praise, Donald Trump says he doesn’t know Vladimir Putin: ‘This is not my best friend’
Donald Trump has a long history of praising Russia President Vladimir Putin, but in Wednesday’s debate he was pressed on whether he condemned the suspected attempts by Russia to interfere with the 2016 election.
“Of course I condemn, of course I condemn,” Trump told moderator Chris Wallace. “I don’t know Putin. I have no idea. I never met Putin.”
Donald Trump on Putin: “This is not my best friend” #DebateNight https://t.co/hU04NJnBqH https://t.co/PINL0cAzL6
— CNN (@CNN) October 20, 2016
“This is not my best friend,” he added.
Shortly after that response, a three-year-old tweet from Trump was recirculated among journalists, as well as by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow – if so, will he become my new best friend?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2013
According to a NBC News report, Trump and Putin attempted to meet at the 2013 pageant, but the meeting never happened because Trump arrived late to Moscow. The Russian president reportedly sent Trump “a gift and note” to Trump in New York City after the Miss Universe contest ended.
Later in the debate, Clinton accused Putin of trying to interfere with the United States election, because he would prefer Trump as president rather than herself.
“He’d rather have a puppet as president,” Clinton said.
“No puppet, no puppet,” Trump shot back over crosstalk. “You’re the puppet. No, you’re the puppet.”
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/788917236115341312
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