Donald Trump defends Putin’s record on killing journalists

“Then they said, ‘You know, he’s killed reporters, ‘” Trump said.

Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Trump if he had a problem with Putin’s reputation for killing journalists and political opponents.

Republican presidential candidates trailing Donald Trump are making it clear they don’t want the same endorsement the billionaire businessman and entertainer got from Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“I think Hillary Clinton, when she was secretary of state, made some disgusting, terrible decisions, and thousands and thousands and even hundreds of thousands of people have been killed”, Trump said.

Donald Trump’s support from Putin and his kind words about the Russian president have been met with a cascade of criticism from US and worldwide media, as the Inquisitr reported earlier this week, and the hits keep on coming. “If he has killed reporters, I think that’s awful”, Trump said.

This week, Putin said Trump is “a very bright and talented man”.

Although Putin has been accused of a lengthy list of human rights violations, Trump has maintained that Russian Federation could be a powerful partner for the United States – and one that could help the country save some money.

MSNBC’s report noted that the Committee to Protect Journalists has published the names of journalists killed in Russia: “Since 1992, the CPJ says that 56 journalists of various nationalities have been killed in Russia”.

Still, Trump has stuck with Putin – who, like Trump, was also interviewed on the episode of CBS’ “60 Minutes” that drew the program’s highest-ever ratings this fall.

The 50-second fake newscast shows real footage of Trump quotes, such as his statement about the Russian leader about when they appeared on the same 60 Minutes show, albeit from separate continents: “He was my stablemate”. I mean, you would like me to call him a weak leader, he’s a strong leader. “I have discussed it recently with President Obama, and with our counterparts from Saudi Arabia, from other Arab countries”, Putin said.

Putin added, “He is the absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today”.

At a rally in New Hampshire, Bush said Trump is a “jerk”.

Kasich’s campaign sent out a mock press release announcing that Trump had named Putin his running mate. But, in all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people, I haven’t seen that.

Pressed by Stephanopoulos, Trump said there was no direct evidence of Putin’s involvement.

Talk about an unlikely bromance: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. I think it would be frightful.

“I’ve always had a good instinct about Putin”, Trump told Simon Conway of WHO Radio.